MEXICO CITY – Elina Svitolina wore the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine and defeated Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 6-1 on Tuesday in the first round of the Monterey Open, deciding she could do more for her country by playing from boycott the match.
Earlier, Svitolina said she would not play against Potapova in Mexico or against opponents from Russia or Belarus until the International Tennis Federation and men’s and women’s tennis tours banned athletes from those countries from using national symbols, flags or anthems.
Tennis authorities issued a statement Tuesday confirming that Russian and Belarusian players will still have the right to play at the highest level, but without national flags.
“Today was a very special match for me,” said 27-year-old Svitolina. “I am in a very sad mood, but I am happy to play tennis here.
“I was focused. I was on a mission for my country. From the very beginning, it was important to be ready for anything that came my way.”
Svitolina is a two-time semifinalist in 16 Grand Slam singles tournaments, ranked up to №3 and currently №15.
“All the prizes I will win will be for the Ukrainian army,” said Svitolina, who won the tournament in 2020. The Monterey Open has a $ 31,000 prize pool for the champion.
Svitolina, who made a breakthrough in the first and third matches on the way to a unilateral victory over Potapova in 64 minutes, will play against Victoria Tomova in the second round.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its sixth day on Tuesday with a huge convoy of Russian tanks and armored vehicles en route to the capital, Kyiv, and fighting intensified there in other major cities.
Russia has shelled several key sites in Kyiv and the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens more, Ukrainian officials said.
In a social media post Monday, Svitolina said her goal of urging tennis to follow the example of the International Olympic Committee and urging Russia and Belarus to be identified only as “neutral athletes” was not against individual athletes.
“I do not blame any of the Russian athletes,” Svitolina wrote. “They are not responsible for invading our country.
Also Tuesday, Ukraine’s Diana Yastremska defeated Romania’s Ana Bogdan 3-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (7) in her opening match at the Lyon Open in France.
Yastremska’s match came just four days after she fled her homeland, arriving in Romania by boat before reaching Lyon on Saturday. In an Instagram post, she wrote that she spent two days hidden in an underground garage while Russian troops advanced before leaving Ukraine.
“I am happy to have won for my country, but at the same time I am very sad,” the 21-year-old Yastremska said after Tuesday’s victory. “My heart stays at home and my mind is fighting here, so it’s very difficult to find concentration, to find balance.
“This victory, compared to what is happening in my country, is nothing. But at least I’m happy to be fighting for my country. I am really proud of the Ukrainians and they are really heroes. I hope it’s over soon. “
The Associated Press contributed to this report.