Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk React to Vladyslav Heraskevych’s Controversial Disqualification at the Winter Olympics

Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk have always been vocal about their stands with Ukraine since the invasion by Russia.

Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk React to Vladyslav Heraskevych’s Controversial Disqualification at the Winter Olympics

Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, Vladyslav Heraskevych (via X/The Tennis Letter/CNN)

In Short
  • Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk expressed support for Vladyslav Heraskevych after his disqualification from the Winter Olympics.
  • Heraskevych was disqualified for refusing to remove a helmet honoring athletes who died due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  • The International Olympic Committee denied his appeal, leading to criticism of the IOC from Svitolina, who called it a "history of shame."

Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk have supported their fellow compatriot Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from the 2026 Winter Olympics. Heraskevych is the country’s top skeleton racer and was seeking to compete in that discipline, having done so at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Heraskevych was barred from competing in the men’s skeleton racer in Milan earlier this week after refusing to stop wearing a helmet that featured the picture of athletes who have died as a result of Russians invasion of Ukraine in 2022. His helmet featured images of teenage weightlifter Alina Perehudova and boxer Pavlo Ishchenko.

Martyred athletes also included ice hockey player Oleksiy Lohinov and 21 other players on the helmet, some of whom were his friends. Heraskevych had first made it clear that he intended to wear the helmet, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) objected to it. The IOC instead offered the athlete the option of wearing a black armband or black ribbon.

But Heraskevych insisted that he will wear the helmet irrespective of the IOC’s decision. That forced IOC’s president Kristy Coventry to have a sit-down in person with Heraskevych on Thursday (February 12), with the hopes of brokering a compromise. But nothing came out of it, forcing the IOC to disqualify him.

Heraskevych then appealed the decision of the IOC at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with the intention of making sure that he competes, but CAS denied the Ukrainian athlete’s appeal, upholding the Olympic committee rule. Several athletes and his fellow countrymen have praised Heraskevych for his courage at the event.

Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina were among others standing in solidarity with the skeleton racer. The pair took to Instagram to express their opinions about the issue, with Kostyuk giving her support for Heraskevych, while Svitolina criticized the IOC, stressing that it has written its name in shame:

We are with you! Thank youuu. Kostyuk wrote

@iocofficial has written itself into the history of shame of world sports. Svitolina wrote (translated from Ukrainian).

Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk Instagram
Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk reactions (via Instagram)

This is not the first time that Heraskevych has demonstrated courage at the Winter Olympics. In 2022, he raised a banner that read “No war in Ukraine”. However, he was not penalized in any manner back then, as there was a resurgent act of resistance from the sport, but it has now begun to sway.

Anna Kalinskaya praises Elina Svitolina despite not receiving a handshake

At the Doha Open, Elina Svitolina got herself into a controversy as she continued her manner of not shaking hands with Russian and Ukrainian players. The 31-year-old fell to Russian star Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets in the round of 16 on Wednesday (February 11). It was the first time that Kalinskaya dominated Svitolina on the court after four meetings.

Elina Svitolina (L) did not shake hands with Anna Kalinskaya (R)
Elina Svitolina (L) did not shake hands with Anna Kalinskaya (R) (Image via X/HQ Pics, Corvath Draemir)

Before the match, Kalinskaya had never won a set against a Ukrainian on tour since Russia invaded the country. After the match, Kalinskaya made sure she didn’t talk about the situation between the two countries, but rather praised Svitolina, stressing that the World No.9 is one of the most excellent players in the circuit:

She’s an excellent player and one of the hardest for me to face. I have a lot of respect for her. I have a different mindset. I had to stick to my game plan and it worked today, which makes me very happy. It’s nice to have another match tomorrow (Thursday) in the Middle East. It’s late, I was worried because I thought there wouldn’t be many people in the stands.

Svitolina enjoyed a brilliant run at the Australian Open, where she reached the semi-finals before losing to Aryna Sabalenka. The Ukrainian defeated Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals in straight sets and won the Auckland Classic earlier in January.

Also Read: Emma Raducanu’s Former Coach Says She has “One Choice” of Playing Style