As an American who supports Ukrainian players' decisions to not shake hands, it is mortifying and scary to have a president who openly supports the two dictators Ukrainians are protesting. When Trump praised Lukashenko (after ruining the '25 U.S. Open with his presence), I wanted to die of shame.
I just don't know what the WTA's/ATP's options are right now in terms of clamping down on Russians/Belarusians who support Putin/Lukashenko. We are in an era of global authoritarianism in general (Hungary's recent election was a welcome exception) and tennis players from authoritarian countries either are scared of the dictators terrorizing their people or openly support them (see Qinwen constantly and grossly praising Xi, for example, after her '24 Olympics gold medal). I'm not sure what I expect from the ATP/WTA at this point in terms of policing Russian and Belarusian players' social media. In hockey, for example, Ovechkin, the best player in the world, blatantly supports Putin and still has a profile pic of him and Putin on his Instagram. The NHL has done nothing in response to that; I have no idea how they'd respond if there was a Ukrainian hockey player who refused to shake hands with Ovechkin after hockey games. The handshake in tennis is so much more a visible part of the game than in other sports.
Dictators ruin everything. Read the Onion headline.
Oliynykova is very courageous. I stand for her safety and the safety of her family in Ukraine. And for the visible and verbal ways that she speaks about living in a country that is under attack by a murderous dictator.
Ben’s writing and reporting continues to get better and harder. I can’t imagine tennis without it, although tennis is getting harder to stomach because of the wealth it promotes. What does Billie Jean say?
(Not to pass the buck, but just saw “Give Me the Ball” and was thoroughly educated and engaged!)
Thanks for this. “…knowingly attack, disparage, or that would reasonably be expected to be harmful or prejudicial to or against any person, group of people” in the rules seems too vague to me as well. So I see Oliynykova’s point. Just trying to picture how bad it would be if athletes could speak more openly. Sometimes points of view held by players get through, and yeah, finding an American player is a Trumper does affect how I feel about them but not how I feel about watching tennis.
I would rather the players have control over their social media and personal lives, even though I understand the WTA being nervous about hot topics. But this also isn't the only profession where you have to be silenced. Teachers everywhere have to hide their beliefs, for example. The world is very sad right now and when I was young picking a profession stuff like this never even entered my mind. I'm all for people being able to post anything they want, even if I disagree with them. Capitalism vs the people. Thanks for continuing to give Oliynykova a chance to defend her side of this story.
Im from Mars, not from here, actually very very far away :D I dont see a difference between American/Israel caused violations or Russian caused violations of essential human rights!
You either cross a line or not.
Ms. Olynykova, i support her, but at the same I dont think she is trustworthy, and Tennis is not a stage for political groups, lots of her statements kinda feel more emotionally motivated. Which i understand too, but this doesnt help the cause I would say.
As an American who supports Ukrainian players' decisions to not shake hands, it is mortifying and scary to have a president who openly supports the two dictators Ukrainians are protesting. When Trump praised Lukashenko (after ruining the '25 U.S. Open with his presence), I wanted to die of shame.
I just don't know what the WTA's/ATP's options are right now in terms of clamping down on Russians/Belarusians who support Putin/Lukashenko. We are in an era of global authoritarianism in general (Hungary's recent election was a welcome exception) and tennis players from authoritarian countries either are scared of the dictators terrorizing their people or openly support them (see Qinwen constantly and grossly praising Xi, for example, after her '24 Olympics gold medal). I'm not sure what I expect from the ATP/WTA at this point in terms of policing Russian and Belarusian players' social media. In hockey, for example, Ovechkin, the best player in the world, blatantly supports Putin and still has a profile pic of him and Putin on his Instagram. The NHL has done nothing in response to that; I have no idea how they'd respond if there was a Ukrainian hockey player who refused to shake hands with Ovechkin after hockey games. The handshake in tennis is so much more a visible part of the game than in other sports.
Dictators ruin everything. Read the Onion headline.
Oliynykova is very courageous. I stand for her safety and the safety of her family in Ukraine. And for the visible and verbal ways that she speaks about living in a country that is under attack by a murderous dictator.
Ben’s writing and reporting continues to get better and harder. I can’t imagine tennis without it, although tennis is getting harder to stomach because of the wealth it promotes. What does Billie Jean say?
(Not to pass the buck, but just saw “Give Me the Ball” and was thoroughly educated and engaged!)
Thanks for this—very illuminating.
How courageous, please keep us updated.
Thanks for this. “…knowingly attack, disparage, or that would reasonably be expected to be harmful or prejudicial to or against any person, group of people” in the rules seems too vague to me as well. So I see Oliynykova’s point. Just trying to picture how bad it would be if athletes could speak more openly. Sometimes points of view held by players get through, and yeah, finding an American player is a Trumper does affect how I feel about them but not how I feel about watching tennis.
I would rather the players have control over their social media and personal lives, even though I understand the WTA being nervous about hot topics. But this also isn't the only profession where you have to be silenced. Teachers everywhere have to hide their beliefs, for example. The world is very sad right now and when I was young picking a profession stuff like this never even entered my mind. I'm all for people being able to post anything they want, even if I disagree with them. Capitalism vs the people. Thanks for continuing to give Oliynykova a chance to defend her side of this story.
Im from Mars, not from here, actually very very far away :D I dont see a difference between American/Israel caused violations or Russian caused violations of essential human rights!
You either cross a line or not.
Ms. Olynykova, i support her, but at the same I dont think she is trustworthy, and Tennis is not a stage for political groups, lots of her statements kinda feel more emotionally motivated. Which i understand too, but this doesnt help the cause I would say.