Tennis-Ukraine’s Kostyuk speaks out against lifting of Russia’s Olympic suspension

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Marta Kostyuk spoke out on Wednesday against the likely inclusion of Russian athletes in the 2028 Olympics, calling it a “terrible” move.

The 24-year-old, who beat Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-2 to reach the women’s last four for the first time, said she would not be distracted from the task in hand, however.

“My thoughts are that it’s terrible. I think it’s very, very far from fair play for all the countries involved here, not just for Ukraine,” she said when asked about Russian athletes possibly competing in Los Angeles.

“I 100% don’t agree with this decision. But I feel like a lot of people spoke out on this issue. They obviously don’t agree, as well. I don’t think anything is going to change.

“I just want to go out there and hopefully beat every single Russian I play in the Olympics, and that’s it.”

MAY MAKE APPROACH TO WORLD TENNIS

The International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee on Tuesday, marking a significant step towards Russia’s reintegration into the Olympic fold.

The ROC was suspended in October 2023 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev said the IOC’s decision should clear the way for Russian athletes to make a full return to the international sporting stage.

Kostyuk said any approach to World Tennis would have to wait until after Wimbledon.

“I’m sure we’re going to do something about it. I’m definitely not going to be doing this before my semi-final match,” she said.

“Maybe I can talk more about it in the U.S. or wherever, whenever I have time to talk to the team, to the girls, to the government as well, see what we’re going to do about it.”

HARD TO FOCUS DUE TO ATTACKS IN UKRAINE

The Ukrainian said it had been hard to focus on tennis with the war at home and attacks on Kyiv, which she has been outspoken about during the conflict.

“It was really tough for me last week when the first big attack happened. Then on Monday they ruined like four streets of residential buildings. It was like 5 km away from where my parents live,” she said.

“Again, another difficult night and a lot of dead people, innocent people, kids. It’s not easy. I tried to be aware of everything that’s going on. Of course, I try for these things not to influence me too much. Every day is different. I cope with it as it goes.”

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin;Editing by Alison Williams)