Iga Swiatek promised to keep playing with a Ukraine pin on her hat until the war is over and she's keeping that promise and doing more.
The tennis superstar admitted to feeling very distraught by what has been going on in Ukraine considering that her country shares a border with Ukraine. She's been a supporter of Ukraine since the start, doing all kinds of charitable activities to help the people there and she mentioned them in her speech yesterday as well.
When I sat there I had a throwback to last year – that was the first tournament that I had a chance to make a speech when the war started in Ukraine. I feel like we have pretty short memories. We should all support Ukrainians with everything they are coping with every day. It’s disappointing this situation is not changing, but hopefully they will stay strong.
The crowd reacted with applause to Swiatek who has tried to keep charitable things on her mind as she plays tennis. She's a very vocal advocate for mental health, supporting various organizations in her native country.