French Open star tells rivals ‘I don’t know how you can sleep at night’ in pointed message | Tennis | Sport

Marta Kostyuk has hit out at her Russian rivals, who have failed to condemn the invasion of Ukraine. The war has been in the spotlight again at this year’s French Open. Kostyuk burst into tears after her first-round match here, revealing that missiles struck around 100 metres away from her family home in Kyiv.

Fellow Ukrainian tennis star, Oleksandra Oliynykova, who reached the third round, has also been outspoken over the last week and slammed 25th seed Diana Shnaider for having previously participated in an exhibition event backed by state-owned oil and gas company Gazprom.

There have been no official tennis tournaments in Russia since the war broke out more than four years ago, and Shnaider responded by saying she participated in the exhibition so she could compete at home in front of friends and family. The 22-year-old, who is into the quarter-finals, also said she wanted to focus on her tennis.

But Kostyuk, who reached a maiden Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday when she beat countrywoman Elina Svitolina, has claimed that her Russian opponents “know what’s going on”. The world No. 15 explained: “Well, for me it’s not frustrating anymore. They are all grown-ups. They know what they’re talking about. They know what’s going on. They have phones. They have Instagram. They have news. They are clearly aware of what’s going on.

“If this is something that they want to avoid talking about, they have to live with this, not me. I mean, what can I say? They pick a strategy for themselves that works for them. That’s it. Obviously, not much I can do about it. I wish there was some more clear stance on what’s going on, especially when your country is killing other people. I don’t know how you can sleep at night peacefully when you know that this is going on, and you have nothing to say about it. Yeah, not much more I can say.”

Kostyuk was also asked whether some of her Russian rivals could be hesitant to speak out for fear of repercussions. But the semi-finalist noted that Russian-born Daria Kasatkina, who switched allegiances to represent Australia last year, had been outspoken in condemning the war, and suggested other players could follow suit if they felt strongly enough.

“Listen, I know some people who have left Russia the moment the war began, who have sold all their business, who have left everything behind because they just don’t agree with what their country is doing to other people. This is their way of protesting it, so they basically just leave and either start their new life somewhere else or publicly condemn it,” she replied.

“There is a lot of public figures in Russia who have done it, and obviously they have no way to come back at this point. Maybe in the future, I don’t know. So there is a way to, you know, if you don’t agree, to kind of not live there. It’s just you don’t agree with it, and that’s it.”

The recent Madrid Open champion also believes the global nature of the tennis tour makes it easier for players to speak out, or leave Russia altogether. She added: “You know, in this setting, we travel the whole year. If you think about it, if you really don’t agree with it, there is a lot of ways to avoid it. I mean, we have to avoid living in Russia. We have [the] greatest example of Daria Kasatkina.

“I know when she spoke about it publicly, like, people were coming to her parents, to her parents’ apartment, and scaring them and stuff like this. It didn’t stop her from changing nationality, to moving out. I don’t think she lives in Russia anyways, but like majority of players don’t live in Russia.

“You know, there is nothing that’s stopping you if this is something you don’t believe in. Clearly, they are not thinking like this, you know? After four years, I think they’ve made it very clear whose side they are on. Again, this is their burden to carry, and this is what they live with, not me.”

Kostyuk will face a Russian opponent in No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva – who she beat in Madrid – for a place in a maiden Grand Slam final.

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