By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday April 13, 2022
Ukrainian's Olga Savchuk and Katarina Zavatska shared their stories - and pain - with media ahead of this weekend's BJK Cup tie with Team USA.
Photo Source: USTA
The toll of the war in Ukraine has taken its toll on the tennis world, and that pain and confusion was expressed eloquently by Ukraine Billie Jean King Cup Captain Olga Savchuk and player Katarina Zavatska, as they spoke to media ahead of this weekend’s qualifier tie with Team USA in Asheville, North Carolina.
This weekend’s tie between the two nations will have a far different flavor than the nation’s only other previous meeting, held in Kharkiv in 2012.
TENNIS PLAYS FOR PEACE - READ MORE AND DONATE
For Americans stationed far from the conflict, it’s normal to have distance from the brutality of the Russian invasion and the dire situation that so many closely tied to the situation find themselves in. Many can switch their portable devices and get into the swing of daily lives. For the Ukrainians, though they may be traveling the tour like the rest of their peers, the situation is far different; far more harrowing - and heartbreaking.
“On my side, it's very tough,” 22-year-old Zavatska told the media earlier this week. “Every day it's tough. There is no one day that we don't think about it. I will talk about me. Every day I'm calling to my parents, my family, to ask them if they're alive. It seems like very tough, rude, but it's true. This is the reality right now.”
Zavatska said her mother and grandmother were able to vacate the country, through Poland, when the war started, and they have since relocated to Zavatska’s apartment in France. Zavatska’s father, grandfather and many other family members have stayed in the country, in Rivne, however.
Some of the women would like to leave, but at this point it is tough, for several reasons.
“They want to move, but you understand that for women, for women to leave without their man, it's very tough to leave. My cousin, for example, she's pregnant. I have my niece, she's almost five years old. It's impossible to be alone in this kind of situation because all the men have to stay, like my dad, he's there. He was supposed to fly on Thursday, 24th of February, to meet me in France, to help me, to go with me to the tournaments. But unfortunately Thursday, 24th, the war started, the bombs started to hit. He was in Kyiv. Unfortunately I didn't see him.”
Note that Zavatska knows the exact date and day of the week the war began. The horror of that day forever scarring her calendar, and the rest of the inhabitants of Ukraine as well.
Zavatska’s story is not unique among her Ukrainian peers. All the players are suffering similarly. How could they not be? Thankfully there is solidarity in that, and kindness abounds in the global community. But this is a situation that cannot be remedied by kindness. Kind gestures and compassion do not stop the bombs from going off.
Savchuk, the 34-year-old captain of a team that also includes Zavatska, Dayana Yastremska, and the Kichenok sisters, who are Lyudmyla and Nadiia, can’t quite make sense of what is happening – and she’s not alone.
“It's tough to explain how we feel,” Savchuk said. “Yeah, I think it's very important to know it. As Katia said, it's really tough. It's like we live in two different realities. Here we are. Of course, we have to continue to support our families. But, yeah, sometimes just like having food, I'm thinking about my grandpa and aunt who are in bomb shelter now.
"How I can even have a cup of tea right now? My family is, like, underground.”
Imagine trying to grow a professional tennis career when you don’t know what is going to happen next in this sinister war. It’s unfathomable, but not impossible. Zavatska, 22 and ranked 201 in singles, explains how to do it:
“The first maybe week, yeah, first week, I could not train to be honest,” she said. “It was impossible because I was only thinking about what is happening in Ukraine the first week. Second week I understood that I have to do something. If I'm not doing anything, I'm just like dying every day. The same mentally, more mentally, physically also.”
Sometimes in this brutal world we must laugh to keep from crying, but this situation in Ukraine is no laughing matter. And the courage of the Ukrainians – both on the ground in their homeland and on the road as professional tennis players and ambassadors for their country – is no joke. It is admirable, and beyond moving. Tennis’ strength has always been its global nature, the way it mixes its flags, creating a cultural fabric that is open-minded, tolerant, diverse and strong.
Our solidarity now is more important than ever. The Ukrainians need and deserve the best of what our sport has to offer.
Each of tennis’ governing bodies - the WTA, ATP, ITF and the four Grand Slams - donated $100,000 to the Ukrainian relief fund in early March. The USTA has pledged to donate 10 percent of this weekend’s ticket revenue to the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund.
Additionally, as part of Tennis Plays for Peace initiative, Billie Jean King has pledged to donate $50,000 and her sum has been matched by BNP Paribas.
“The USTA, along with all of tennis' governing bodies, condemns the invasion of Ukraine and continues to advocate for peace,” said Stacey Allaster, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis, USTA. “We’re committed to welcoming the Ukrainian team and to making sure they have all the support they need leading up to and during the competition in Asheville. Together, we will use this event to continue advocating for peace, along with providing aid and support for the people of Ukraine.”
It doesn't solve the problem, but it helps.
“I think that's great,” Savchuk said. “We really appreciate and are grateful for that because they really, like, came up right away with this plan, with their support and help. It wasn't even a question. We feel really welcome.”
It’s a small victory to earn, when compared to the travesty of the Russian invasion, but it’s something. And we can do more. And will.
Friday will be about tennis as the teams take the court for their first two singles rubbers, but it will be about so much more. Empathy, compassion, sadness, pain, relief and, just maybe, a few moments where the mind can stop worrying and enjoy the applause of an appreciative crowd and the chance to inspire the next generation of great tennis players.
We can hope.