Ukrainian tennis player Oleksandra Oliynykova didn’t leave the Australian Open quietly despite a first-round exit.
Soon after being knocked out of the Grand Slam by ninth seed Madison Keys, Oliynykova called for the ATP and WTA to ban world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and other Belarusian and Russian players from professional tennis.
After her loss on Tuesday night, the world No. 92 wore a T-shirt which had the words ‘I need your help to protect Ukrainian children and women, but I can’t talk about it here’ written on it.
She went on to say the presence of Belarusian and Russian players was ‘very wrong’ due to the war in her homeland.
The 25-year-old, who was making her Grand Slam debut at Melbourne Park this week, singled out Sabalenka even though she said she did not support the Russian invasion of Ukraine or Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
‘It’s very wrong that they are not disqualified in tennis like in other sports,’ Oliynykova told The Age.
Ukrainian tennis player Oleksandra Oliynykova wants Belarusian and Russian players banned from professional tennis
It would mean world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka wouldn’t be allowed to compete at the majors
‘I know that here is the picture that we are all tennis girls playing, but the people don’t see the things behind it.
‘The people with money and power, they are using this to support aggression against my country.
‘They are the reason, the people who have the power to speak up – they are not doing this.’
Oliynykova highlighted how Sabalenka signed a letter supporting Lukashenko in 2020, two years before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At the 2023 French Open, however, Sabalenka declared she did not support the war or ‘Lukashenko right now’.
Belarus is a close ally of Russia and Oliynykova said she did not like seeing players from those nations in the locker room alongside her and refused to speak to any of them.
Oliynykova was born and raised in Kyiv and her father is a soldier whom she is trying to support by making money to buy drones for Ukraine’s war effort.
‘I’m so proud of him and that’s something that’s keeping me motivated even more,’ she said while revealing since he joined the military her ranking has improved more than 200 places.
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Oliynykova wore a t-shirt which had the words ‘I need your help to protect Ukrainian children and women, but I can’t talk about it here’, written on it after her first round loss on Tuesday
Sabalenka has previously voiced her support for Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko but has distanced herself from him since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Oliynykova’s apartment building shook after a drone attack on her neighbour the night before she left for Australia
The day before she flew out for the Australian Open, she revealed that she was nearly struck in a drone attack that hit her neighbour’s apartment.
During an interview on Ben Rothenberg’s Bounces, Oliynykova claimed many Russian and Belarusian players support Putin or Lukashenko.
‘These players are one of the reasons why my apartment was shaking before I came here,’ she said.
Under Grand Slam guidelines, players are barred from making political statements at competition venues.
A Tennis Australia official said, however, there were no rules prohibiting such statements.
Posting on X, the Embassy of Ukraine in Australia and New Zealand said: ‘Many thanks to Oleksandra Oliynykova for using her voice at AO to make an important statement. Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to compete in reputable international competitions while Russia continues to kill Ukrainians and leave them freezing to death.’
Her father watched her match against Keys and sent her a message afterwards, saying she was ‘amazing’ which almost brought her to tears.
Tennis Australia has been contacted for further comment.
