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Russian tennis star Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova admits the Russia and Ukraine war is causing her fear as she has called for peace and unity. In the early hours of Thursday, Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The world leading nations have called for Russia to stop their attacks but so far there is no sign of the war ending any time soon.
Pavlyuchenkova is currently in Russia and safe for now but she is living in fear and she has urged more athletes to speak out on the situation. "It's causing me fear, I'm confused (...) I can only speak out. I can only hope for more athletes to speak out on this matter," Pavlyuchenkova told CNN, as revealed by Svenja Mastroberardino.
Pavlyuchenkova: We need peace in the world, not wars
"I'm not a politican, just a woman who plays tennis professionally. I just try to speak out, try to make my point. I don't want violence (...) We just want peace and love and stop the war," Pavlyuchenkova added.
Russia has been sanctioned heavily by the world's leading nations as each day new sanctions are imposed on them. The Russian economy is suffering major losses and the people of Russia fear their future and the future of their children is compromised by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"I have a fear for the future. We need to think about our children as well. I want a future for the children. (...) I don't want to be selfish and talk about my career, it's not about sport and tennis right now. (...) It's about our future and our lives," Pavlyuchenkova added.
On Tuesday, the ATP, WTA and ITF released a joined statement, in which they condemned Russia's actions. No tournaments will take place in Russia or Belarus and they have also been banned from competing in team events. Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete in tournaments but they will not compete under the name or flag of Russia and Belarus.
