Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk, ranked No. 49 in the world, expressed "surprise and dissatisfaction" on social media with the lack of response from the Women's Tennis Association on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and demanded that the WTA immediately condemn the Russian government and pull all tournaments out of Russia.
Speaking on behalf of Ukrainian tennis players, she wrote on Twitter, "Our country, Ukraine is under brutal attack by superior nuclear power."
"The bombs and rockets are hitting our houses, killing our people, destroying our life," she wrote.
She asked the WTA to approach the International Tennis Federation, the governing body of world tennis, to do the same.
Echoing Kostyuk's frustration was Ukrainian and world No. 15-ranked Elina Svitolina, who issued a statement that read in part, "We - Ukrainian players -- requested to ATP, WTA and ITF to follow the recommendations of the IOC [International Olympic Committee] to accept Russian or Belarussian nationals only as neutral athletes, without displaying any national symbols, colours, flags or anthems."
The ITF said it has canceled its events on Russian soil "indefinitely,'' and no events would be scheduled in Belarus this year. It also postponed an event scheduled for Ukraine in April, citing "heightened security concerns.''
"This is a fast-evolving situation. We are constantly monitoring events and remain in active discussion with the ITF tennis family, the ITF Board and security experts to decide and align around our next course of action. We stand united with the population of Ukraine,'' the ITF said in a statement issued Monday. "Right now, our priority remains the safety of all those participating in our events. We will of course be providing more information as soon as possible.''
Svitolina said she would not play in her match Tuesday in Monterrey, Mexico, or in any other match against Russian or Belarussian tennis players until the tennis organizations take the requested actions. But she also said she does not blame any Russian athletes and wishes "to pay tribute to all the players, especially Russians and Belarussians, who bravely stated their position against the war."
Earlier Monday, Kostyuk posted a video from Kharkiv, Ukraine, where buildings were actively being attacked by Russia, with the caption "Stay strong."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.