Ukraine tennis star Dayana Yastremska launched a scathing call to tennis' governing bodies to take appropriate action in the aftermath of a new wave of attacks on her hometown of Odesa.
Dayana Yastremska took to Instagram to voice her displeasure and shared a harrowing voice recording of missile sounds and an image of her sister and dog sheltering and hiding in the bathroom. In the early hours of Tuesday, Russia carried out a massive air attack on the port city of Odesa - Yastremska's hometown where her family currently lives.
The 23-year-old is in Italy where she is actively taking part in the Palermo Ladies Open. Yastremska is scheduled to play her second-round match against Jasmine Paolini on Thursday. She called on the WTA and ITF to take appropriate measures to mitigate the problems facing Ukrainian players and called for stricter action on Russian players.
Yastremska alluded to the fact that Ukrainian players are deprived of sleep since they stay up all night to follow every bit of the news from loved ones and worry for their safety. Ukrainian players are still expected to play the next day, putting them at a huge disadvantage against their opponents.
"Just check my stories, or maybe you would like a live video or visit Ukraine so you can change your opinion about Russia,"
"Someone sleeps well now, you know who I mean and someone is trying to survive. All Ukraine players during the tournament are awake because they are following all the news. Is that fair?"
Yastremska has in the past admitted it is emotionally tough to play against Russian and Belarusian players. The former world no. 21, like all her compatriots, will not shake hands with the players from the aforementioned countries - a gesture that has been received with a chorus of boos on a regular basis by the fans inside the stadium.
"I think, well, since the war started, everybody said, Ukrainians, that we're not going to shake hands against Russians and Belarusian players."
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