Olympic bronze medalist in women’s singles Elina Svitolina reacted to the admission of Russian tennis players to Wimbledon 2023. A Ukrainian spoke out on the Tennis Channel YouTube channel.

“This is the decision of the organizers. We must respect him. Therefore, it’s time to return to the court and kick someone’s ass, ”said Svitolina. On March 31, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), which organizes Wimbledon, announced the conditions for the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the tournament. Among them was a clause stating that tennis players receiving state funding, which includes sponsorship from companies controlled by the authorities of Russia and Belarus, will not be able to take part in the competition. In the spring of 2022, Russian tennis players were refused admission to tournaments in the UK, which is why domestic athletes were forced to miss Wimbledon. In other competitions of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Russians play in a neutral status. In addition to the bronze of the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Svitolina has 16 titles in WTA tournaments. On April 3, the 28-year-old athlete played her first match since March last year. The tennis player took a break in her career due to the birth of a child.