So happy to see Sachko doing well in Metz and am going to keep my fingers crossed for the semifinal. Ukraine is such an important subject to keep covering, given its representation in the tennis world, and I'm so glad Ben talked to a rare men's player still in the mix. The NYT magazine covered Ukrainian women's players in 2023 and the pain and stress they're dealing with as they try to play -- and deal with Belarusian and Russian players -- while their country is going through horrors that are impossible for most tennis fans to comprehend. But in 2025, given so much other chaos in the world and the stalemate, too many people -- including tennis players and fans -- have tuned out Ukraine, or are encouraging Ukrainians to just give in and compromise with the horrible country that is still murdering them (see Trump's constantly changing positions and general idiocy).
I'm also in awe of Sergiy Stakhovsky (also featured in the NYT mag article in 2023) who returned to Ukraine to fight in the war, but still does promotions with Svitolina to support tennis development in Ukraine; would love a Stakhovsky interview at some point. Most of all, every time I see any male tennis players complaining about the stress of playing the sport, I think of Sachko playing amid the war, or Stakhovsky trying to save his country from being taken over by Russia. Ukrainian men are some of the bravest men on earth.
So happy to see Sachko doing well in Metz and am going to keep my fingers crossed for the semifinal. Ukraine is such an important subject to keep covering, given its representation in the tennis world, and I'm so glad Ben talked to a rare men's player still in the mix. The NYT magazine covered Ukrainian women's players in 2023 and the pain and stress they're dealing with as they try to play -- and deal with Belarusian and Russian players -- while their country is going through horrors that are impossible for most tennis fans to comprehend. But in 2025, given so much other chaos in the world and the stalemate, too many people -- including tennis players and fans -- have tuned out Ukraine, or are encouraging Ukrainians to just give in and compromise with the horrible country that is still murdering them (see Trump's constantly changing positions and general idiocy).
I'm also in awe of Sergiy Stakhovsky (also featured in the NYT mag article in 2023) who returned to Ukraine to fight in the war, but still does promotions with Svitolina to support tennis development in Ukraine; would love a Stakhovsky interview at some point. Most of all, every time I see any male tennis players complaining about the stress of playing the sport, I think of Sachko playing amid the war, or Stakhovsky trying to save his country from being taken over by Russia. Ukrainian men are some of the bravest men on earth.