Ukraine's fourth-ranked player Oleksandra Oliynikova will refuse to shake hands and take a joint photo with Hungarian tennis player Anna Bondar. She announced this in a comment to the “Big Tennis of Ukraine” portal.
After her debut at the Australian Open in January, Oliynikova won her first career victory in the main draw of WTA tournaments – in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, she started with a win against Egyptian Mayar Sherif.
Oliynikova's second opponent will be Hungarian Bondar, ranked 64th in the world. The tennis players will meet for the first time.
Oleksandra explained that she would not resort to symbolic measures against her rival because of Bondar's performances in exhibition competitions in Russia – in December 2022, against the backdrop of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Hungarian took part in the exhibition “Northern Palmyra Trophy”.
Bondar was one of two Hungarian representatives at the tournament: one of the top-ranked local tennis players, Marton Fucsovics, also participated in the men's competition. The overall field of participants was mostly Russian, but there were also representatives from Spain, Serbia, and Kazakhstan.
“The tournament was organized in Russia as a demonstrative disregard for international sanctions and restrictions imposed on the aggressor country. This tournament was financed by Gazprom, one of the key financial pillars of the Russian military machine,” Oliynikova explained.
Oliynikova emphasized the timing of Bondar's participation in the competition: as of December 2022, it was known about mass crimes committed by the Russian military in Bucha, Irpen, Izyum, and Kherson.
“Going to a tournament in Russia in December 2022 and accepting payment from Gazprom's funds is, from a moral point of view, the same as going to play a tournament in Nazi Germany in 1941 and receiving a reward in the form of jewelry from Jews exterminated in the Auschwitz and Treblinka death camps. The same evil – only 80 years later.”
“This is a matter of humanity, of humanity and basic human values. I cannot ignore it. The world tennis community should not ignore it. The fans should not forget it.”
The match between Oliynikova and Bondar in the round of 16 of the Transylvania Open will take place on Tuesday, February 3. The tennis players will play their first serve at 11:00 a.m.