‘I could be in prison for my comments’ says Daria Saville on the Russia-Ukraine war


‘I could be in prison for my comments’ says Daria Saville on the Russia-Ukraine war

Daria Saville

Daria Saville is a Russian player who represented Russia until 2015 before she emigrated to Australia. The 28-year-old tennis star has an impressive number of titles including, 1 career title in the Connecticut Open, 4 WTA Circuit finals titles, 2 doubles career titles, and 4 doubles career titles in the WTA Circuit finals and more.

Another significant thing to note is that this Australian star has achieved victories by upsetting several Grand Slam champions like Maria Sharapova, Angelique Kerber her first win over world no.1, Petra Kvitova whom she has defeated three times, and Ana Ivanovic to name a few.

Regarding the Ukraine- Russia conflict, Gavrilova chose to protect “her” neighbours rather than unite behind ” Putin ” at the commencement of the crisis between Ukraine and Russia. It’s a brave position to take, especially because she already knows she’ll have a difficult time going home one day. She said, she chose to protect “her” neighbours rather than unite behind “Putin” at the commencement of the crisis between Ukraine and Russia.

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In comments reported by WeLoveTennis, she further added, “I could be in prison because of my statements if I return to Russia. But I don’t think it’s that important. On the other hand, I know that is what happens if you participate in demonstrations. When the war started, I immediately messaged some of my Ukrainian tennis friends and cried for days. 

“I couldn’t believe this could happen, that we Russians and I mean “we” because obviously I can’t deny that I’m Russian – would do this to our neighbours, our brothers. In the end, I think to myself that the best decision I ever made was to move to Australia, but I thought to myself, “How can you be apolitical? So I decided, “OK, I’ll let everyone know where I stand.”

The tennis player should be lauded for her bravery and her honesty when she includes herself as a Russian even though she emigrated to Australia. The move to Australia she claims was influenced by her husband Luke Saville, to who she got married the previous year.

What’s next for Daria Saville?

Daria Saville
Daria Saville

2022 proved to be fruitful for Gravilova as, she began her season at the Adelaide International 1, where she qualified and beat Caty McNally and Katie Boulter before losing in the first round to Iga Switek. She was given a wildcard into the Adelaide International 2, however, she was defeated by Ana Konjuh in the first round once again. She was given another wildcard into the Australian Open main tournament but lost in the first round against Rebecca Peterson.

Saville entered the Abierto Zapopan with a protected rating of No. 627 in the world. In the first round, she beat reigning US Open winner and top seed Emma Raducanu and Caroline Dolehide, before falling in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Sloane Stephens. Her rating rose to No. 410 as a result of her run.

Saville qualified for the tournament in Indian Wells in March, defeating Kamilla Rakhimova and Magdalena Frech. Saville defeated Zhang Shuai in the first round before going on to beat ninth seed Ons Jabeur in the second round; this was her first top 10 win since 2018. She then beat 20th seed, Elise Mertens, in the second round before losing in the fourth round against eventual finalist and sixth seed Maria Sakkari.

She got a main draw wildcard for the Miami Open the following week. She advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Greet Minnen, Harmony Tan, Katerina Siniakova, and Lucia Bronzetti, a fortunate loser. With a world ranking of No. 249 at the time, she became the lowest-ranked Miami quarterfinalist in history. In the quarterfinals, she was defeated by Belinda Bencic, the 22nd seed.

All this has proved that the tennis star is only reaching new heights and may end up upsetting some of the top-ranked players as she has done before.

Also Read: ‘Can’t catch a break’ Covid-19 forces Dominic Thiem to withdraw from the upcoming Monte-Carlo Masters

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