Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina has reversed her decision to pull out of the Monterrey Open – and will instead play wearing the colours of her country's flag on "a special night".
The world number 15 released a statement on Monday in which she said she would not play against any Russian or Belarusian athletes until tennis' governing bodies agreed to ban the use of their flags, symbols and anthem.
Her request came in light of Russian forces invading her homeland – a conflict which has seen thousands killed, including hundreds of civilians.
It put her place at the Monterrey Open under threat, as she had been drawn to face Russia's Anastasia Potapova in the first round.
But the top seed is now set to play in the Mexico tournament after all, now that organisers have agreed to her requests.
"I'm going to play in the Ukrainian national colours," an emotional Svitolina told ITV News on Tuesday.
"Normally we are playing at the Olympics and for our national team in Ukrainian colours but today I'm going to wear Ukrainian colours and for me this means a lot – it's going to be a special night for me."
Svitolina's appearance in Mexico means she will be able to carry out the pledge that she made earlier in the week about her prize money.
The 27-year-old promised to donate her prize money from this competition, as well as from upcoming Masters events at Indian Wells and in Miami, to the Ukrainian army and humanitarian efforts in her homeland.
"Really until the very last moment we did not believe that this war would actually start and then everything just happened at night... Everyone is terrified, everyone is heartbroken," she said.
"My family is there. Lots of my friends who didn't leave the country are there. They're fighting for their life, some of them are fighting for our country.
"It takes a lot of courage and it's unbelievable that some people took weapons in their hands and went to fight for our land.
"The most painful thing I would say is I feel completely useless because I want to help them. I want to do something for them. Some of my friends are without electricity, without water, without food. They're really struggling.
"So I decided the prize money from my upcoming tournaments here in Mexico and in the States will go to the Ukrainian Army and to humanitarian needs.
"So like this, I can help my country. And this, I think is the right thing to do at the moment. And I want to do something and to help my country."
