Former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus said Wednesday that she is “devastated” over the violence in Ukraine that began with Russia’s invasion last week.
Belarus has been used as a key staging area to the north of Ukraine during Russia’s attack.
Azarenka, 32, a high-profile athlete in her country, won a gold medal in mixed doubles and a bronze medal in singles while representing Belarus at the 2012 Olympics.
“I am devastated by the actions that have taken place over the last several days against and in Ukraine,” the two-time Grand Slam champion wrote on Twitter. “It is heartbreaking to see how many innocent people have been affected and continue to be affected by such violence.
“I have always seen and experienced Ukrainian and Belarusian people friendly and supportive of each other. It’s hard to witness the violent separation currently taking place.”
Also Wednesday, the WTA and ATP suspended the 2022 Kremlin Cup in Moscow due to the invasion. The tournament was slated for October.
The Kremlin Cup was founded in 1990.
“A deep sense of distress, shock and sadness has been felt across the entire tennis community following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the past week,” a joint statement from the women’s and men’s tour stated. “The international governing bodies of tennis stand united in our condemnation of Russia’s actions.
“The WTA and ATP Boards have made the decision to suspend the WTA/ATP combined event, scheduled this October in Moscow.”
The news comes one day after the International Tennis Federation announced that Russia and Belarus would be suspended from Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup competitions.
–Field Level Media