After winning the 2022 US Open second round, Iga Swiatek spoke about the tense relations between Russian/Belarusian and Ukrainian tennis players.
In a post-match press conference, the Pole asserted that the window of opportunity for the ATP and WTA tournaments to resolve the issues between Russian/Belarusian and Ukrainian tennis players had virtually passed.
"Well, basically I think it's already too late. I mean, it's never too late, you know. But I think the best time for ATP or WTA to do anything was when the war started, and where the tension was pretty big, I mean, in the locker rooms, you know. I think right now it's already pretty messed up" - said Swiatek.
The World No. 1 claimed that the tennis players were not to blame for the invasion and that it would have been much simpler if the tours had gotten involved from the outset of the conflict.
"Even though there are countries who are invading other countries, we are tennis players, Swiatek said, adding, "It's sad but it's not our fault that it's happening, you know. Yeah, I think it would be much, much easier at the beginning to do that. Right now, yeah, right now it's kind of too late, I think, to fix that." - concluded Swiatek.
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