Olympics means little to player caught up in Ukraine war

Ukrainian player Oleksandra Oliynykova has no mental bandwidth left for the upcoming Milan-Cortina Olympics as she struggles with her tennis career and the Russian war on her homeland.

 “Every competition is important, every opportunity to say something about

Ukraine..” she said after challenging Australian Open holder Madison Keys before taking a 7-6 (6), 6-1 loss.

The daughter of a soldier fighting the war takes the opportunity to spread the word about her beleaguered country at any and every opportunity

“It’s sad, because this war (from February, 2022) is very long, and I think people are losing the attention after so many years.

“But now in Ukraine we don’t have electricity. In my apartment, I have no electricity, no water, no heat. That’s what’s going on. Every opportunity to say about this, I believe it’s very important. 

“And, of course, Olympics, it’s Olympics. What can I say more?”

The 25-year-old put out a plea for help: “I would like to share the way people can help Ukrainians, but we will need — if you want to ask me about this, we will need to do it outside of the tournament press. 

“I really know and can share how people can help to protect our civilians, our kids, to protect me specifically, because I’m practicing in Ukraine. I did preparation for this tournament in Ukraine, and during the preparation, I was hearing the explosion. 

“There was explosion just near my home, and a drone hitted the home just across the road. My apartment was literally shaking because of the explosion.”

Main photo:-Oleksandra Oliynykova – by Jimmie48/WTA