Russian tennis stars sentenced to prison as Ukraine attacks compatriots

Ukrainian tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky has said he is "disappointed" by Russian stars who refuse to talk about Vladimir Putin's invasion of his country. Those who criticize the state risk arrest due to the country's strict censorship laws.

At least 47,000 people are believed to have died since Putin ordered his invasion of Ukraine in February. Another 13,000 people are estimated to have suffered serious injuries while more than 17 million people have been displaced.

Many sports, including Formula 1 and football, have sought to eliminate Russian drivers and teams as they seek to make outcasts of the aggressive state. However, tennis has taken a more lenient stance with Russian players like world number one Daniil Medevev allowed to continue competing as long as they do so under a neutral flag.

This caused problems at Wimbledon, with the All England Club not wanting to admit them to the competition. As a result, the ATP decided to take away ranking points from the event, which dropped Novak Djokovic to world number 7.

The now retired Stakhovsky was speaking at a charity event in Poland organized by female number 1 Iga Swiatek to raise funds for young people affected by the war.

"I'm disappointed to say the least," he explained. "They are afraid for their fate. They don't want to go to prison, but they are ok with children and women dying.

"I'd rather trade and go to jail for a few weeks or even a month if I can save a life doing that."

He suggested the Russian stars actively tried to avoid him when he attended French Open earlier this year.

He added: "I met some of the Russian players in Paris. I won't name names during Roland Garros and basically they all turned around and left or turned their heads when they told me. seen.

However, he wanted to congratulate Andrey Rublev and Daria Kataskina. Both professionals spoke out against the war, Rublev first made a public anti-war demonstration as soon as it started. The female number 12 described the war as a "nightmare" in a courageous video where she condemned the war and also announced that she was gay.

“Rublev is perhaps the only player who came out publicly and said to stop the war in the first week, while I have great admiration for Daria. She is a heroine in her own way,” said explained Stakhovsky.

"If there had been more Russians like that, the war would never have started."