"Many players refuse to comment on the topic of war" - Swiatek remains loud when supporting Ukraine
WTASunday, 24 July 2022 at 15:05
Updated at Sunday, 26 January 2025 at 20:19
Iga Swiatek played a charity match with Agnieszka Radwanska in Krakow to support Ukraine, and she supported Ukrainians once again, not only with her actions but also with her words.
The young Pole is one of the loudest voices when it comes to speaking about the ongoing war in Ukraine. She recently played an exhibition match that was umpired by Elina Svitolina.
Another Ukrainian tennis player and loud critic of the war in Ukraine, Sergiy Stakhovsky, took part in the event as well. In the charity match, Swiatek played against Agnieszka Radwanska, and she also spoke about why she chose to be part of this event.
"Never have I imagined that a war could be so close. I was born in times of relative peace for our part of Europe. I have noticed that, in the beginning, the tennis world’s interest in what has been going on in Ukraine was very strong."
"Many female tennis players donned ribbons in the colours of that country. However, with the passage of time, this changed and ribbons disappeared after a couple matches."
"My ribbon remains. Many players refuse to comment on the topic of war. I respect that because everyone does what they deem appropriate."
Radwanska, who played against the current WTA World No. 1 player, also spoke about the issue. She said that she never imagined she would play against Swiatek, but she did it because of the cause.
"For me this was revisiting tennis after a couple years. I would have never expected to play a single with the world’s best player and, on top of that, in my hometown of Krakow. I did this only because of the superb initiative, not for the sake of my career."
"When I got a call from Iga, I could not reject her proposal. Events like this are probably the best way to help children from Ukraine who were left with nothing. We can hope that this will help them return to normal life."
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