After a Victory, Her Battle Continues
Oleksandra Oliynykova won at Roland Garros, then spoke forcefully anew about the war at home in Ukraine and the complicity she sees among Russians on tour.
PARIS, France — Oleksandra Oliynykova, whom Bounces readers have heard from twice already this season, continued to be one of the most compelling figures on tour on Tuesday evening at Roland Garros, where she arrived at her press conference determined to tell her story to perhaps the largest and most attentive audience yet.
Since there are a lot of new subscribers here recently (welcome!), a quick refresher:
Oliynykova first spoke to Bounces ahead of her Grand Slam debut in Melbourne this January, discussing the realities of training in Ukraine while bombs continue to fall on the country.
During the Italian Open earlier this month, Oliynykova chatted with Bounces again and described the tension that has developed between herself and WTA officials who have urged her not to speak about players whom she believes are supporting Russia’s invasion by direct or indirect means.
Both of these stories were among the most popular at Bounces so far this year, and so I was curious to follow Oliynykova both on and off the court here at Roland Garros.
It was a big day for her here on Tuesday: she notched her first main draw win at a major by handily beating Russian qualifier Elena Pridankina 6-1, 6-2. After the win, Oliynykova took a Ukrainian flag and ran to her father, Denis, who she said is on leave from the Ukrainian Army. He has been with her both last week in Strasbourg and this week in Paris, and fortuitously could be present during one of the biggest moments of his daughter’s career so far.
“It was very important for me that my father saw my first Grand Slam win in real life,” Oliynykova said near the beginning of her press conference. “When I finished the match, I took the Ukrainian flag and I came to my father and I said, ‘You saw it! You saw my first win in a Slam.’ Yeah, that’s very special; my first match, I’m going to win it only once. I’m very happy.”
But it wasn’t long before the topics shifted toward the area in which Oliynykova has become singularly outspoken: the Russian invasion and bombardment of Ukraine, which continues while the tennis tour goes on in what she sees as oblivious dereliction of a moral duty.
The first question which set Oliynykova in motion on Tuesday centered on the nationality of her opponent today, and how she processes having to face a Russian.
“Of course I can talk about this element,” Oliynykova began. “For me, when I play, I’m professional and I’m doing my work. One day I can win; the other day I lose. And I mean, this is a part of my job. The thing is, it doesn’t affect me on the court.
“But we need to understand that this match and making a show from this, it’s not fair,” Oliynykova continued. She then pulled out her phone and showed an image of the screen which she described as a tennis center in Ukraine which had been hit by Russian bombs.
Later in the press conference, Oliynykova added that these bombed-out courts were ones she’d trained on in her youth.
“The courts where I spent my childhood,” she said of Lyodovyi (Льодовий) in Kyiv. “I was practicing there for so many years. And yeah, of course, when I saw this…I mean, this is a huge part of my childhood memories. When I see something like this happening, it hurts me so much, and this is something so painful to see.”
According to the tennis club’s Instagram, it was bombed just two days ago, on Sunday, May 24.
“I can show you what the Russians did during the attack [on] the tennis court,” Oliynykova said as she held up her phone. “You can see what’s happening to the tennis courts in Ukraine. Many of our athletes went to war to defend Ukraine—they died. Some [were] killed as a civilian in their own home.
“And the thing is that, these players here, they are a part of propaganda. They are staying silent, and by [doing] this, they are supporting the regime. They’re giving their agreement to the regime. Many players are actively participating in propaganda. By their activity on social media, by participation in the Gazprom tournament: they are active Putin supporters.”
Oliynykova, as she did in our last interview, drew a line connecting tacit support of the Russian regime and normalizing of the war.
“Part of the reason [for the war] are the people who are participating in Russia propaganda,” she said. “They are normalizing aggression against Ukraine. Regular Russians will see that their favorite tennis players—these girls and men here who we see, these famous people with a lot of influence and money which they are earning on these tournaments—they are kind of re-investing this [influence], if you understand me, [in] support of propaganda. And we need to speak about this.
“And this silence here on tour, for me, it’s very triggering,” Oliynykova continued. “So there is a part, when I’m on court with a racquet, it’s different. But this part, [outside of the] court, this is something that we need to speak about more. And the sports organizations need to do something about this. Because here, they are getting a platform—this publicity and money and influence—which they will use for the things I showed, these horrible things. While in Ukraine, people are dying, our courts are being destroyed, our sports facilities are destroyed. Here, we need to stop to pretend like nothing is happening.”
As Oliynykova spoke in the open-sided Interview Room 3, I could see more and more reporters coming to listen at the perimeter of the space, rapt by what she was saying and the force with which she said it. I also want to note that Oliynykova’s press conference was being moderated by a senior WTA communications official, who did nothing at any point to limit questions or Oliynykova’s answers to them. In this week where the lengths of press conferences became a talking point, Oliynykova’s went for 12 minutes in English and another six minutes in Ukrainian.
After saying that she got support from international players on tour— “sometimes these little things help you to feel better, and of course there are so many people who are supportive to Ukrainians”—Oliynykova was asked about the possibility of Russian and Belarusian players being able to play again with their country’s flags next to their names, rather than as “neutrals”. In some sports this revision has already begun recently; the IOC even recommended reinstating Belarusians with full status. The International Tennis Federation, however, has not shifted its position so far:
“The International Tennis Federation confirms that the IOC’s announcement does not change its existing position regarding the Belarus and Russian Tennis Federations’ suspensions which remain in place.
”The membership status of the Belarus Tennis Federation will be considered at the ITF Annual General Meeting in October by the ITF’s voting member nations in accordance with ITF constitutional process.”
Oliynykova addressed the Russian flag with the language that has become familiar to me over our conversations this year.
“This flag is a symbol of terror,” Oliynykova began. “This flag is something that the Russian soldiers are [flying] after they are destroying the city completely. The cities where they’re coming with only one intention: to destroy, to kill, to rape, to steal. These symbols are horrible. This is something absolutely unacceptable, and for Ukrainians, it is very traumatizing.
“We need to understand what this means right now,” Oliynykova continued. “In the modern context, using something like this [flag], it’s the same thing like using, I don’t know, a swastika. Let’s go on court with a swastika. This is absolutely the same—I see zero difference in this. And the fact that now this is under any discussion, it’s horrible. It would be, for me, very interesting to see the arguments for this, you know? But this is very unfair, and this is absolutely immoral.”
Oliynykova then suggested that, as the war continues, memories of the initial outrage it caused have faded due to time.
“I think the world is forgetting who Russians are in the reality, and that there’s propaganda which they are sharing,” she said, adding that Russian propaganda has also been “aggressive” toward other European countries.
“Like Germany, Estonia, Poland. Latvia, Lithuania—a lot of them, all these countries,” she said. “I want to understand what’s going on with this world when we even have this discussion. This is absolutely unacceptable for me.”
A German reporter then asked Oliynykova how Russian players acted toward her in private on the tour; she asserted that their public behavior (or their lack of repudiation) already showed their characters fully.
“They are not trying to understand, because they don’t care,” Oliynykova said. “They don’t care that Ukrainians are dying. If they would care, these people, they have influence [they could use]. They are famous. They have fans. They have people who are listening to them. [Instead], they are silent.
“And they are not coming, even in private, because they are supporting all these horrible things,” she added. “We need to understand this [clearly]. I will repeat this as many times as I need [to], and I want people to hear me: Of course not. They don’t care. They are supporting Putin and Lukashenko.”
In her final answer in the English portion of her press conference, Oliynykova recommitted, as she did in her last interview, her willingness to choose her truth over her future on the tour, if it came to that.
“I just decided for myself that my motivation to play, to be here, it never was publicity or money or anything,” Oliynykova said. “OK, this is all great. But for what? I want to help my country. I want to use my opportunity to speak. And also the money I earn: I will donate a lot of money after this tournament to the army. It’s also very important: we need to support the Ukrainian army. This message should be clear. Because if we will not support our soldiers, we will need humanitarian support for decades, because the Russians will not stop their aggression.
“But yeah, this is part of my mission. I will speak, and what I’m speaking [are] the facts. I can prove it…and yeah, if I will be fined or banned for the facts, for saying the truth, then, OK. It will be unfortunate; I will be sad. But I will have this feeling that I’m doing the right thing.
“So yeah, I know that it can be uncomfortable. I know that some of these people are huge stars. They have many contracts, they are making a lot of money, and they have a lot of influence. But I still will keep saying these things. It’s just the facts, it’s the reality.
“And yeah, without this, I don’t see any point to be here. I love tennis, but I can play on the small court somewhere near my home. I don’t need the stadium, I don’t need the public. I’m here to help, and I feel that this is my mission.”
Oleksandra Oliynykova, who has earned a spot in the second round and at least €130,000 (US $151,215) in prize money so far at Roland Garros, will face Australian Kimberly Birrell in the next round on Thursday, after Birrell stunned fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula late Tuesday night.
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