ITF starts funding campaign for the world’s oldest tennis player whose life turned upside down due to the Ukraine war

ITF starts funding campaign for the world’s oldest tennis player whose life turned upside down due to the Ukraine war

ITF will sponsor 98-year-old Ukrainian player Leonid Stanislavskyi - FirstSportz

This year has been tough for the Russians and Belarusian athletes for being forced to skip tournaments. The International Tennis Federation(ITF) scrapped all ranking points after players couldn’t participate in Wimbledon. This was quite a drastic move by them. In order to extend their support to Ukraine, ITF established the ‘Tennis Plays For Peace’ initiative along with fundraising.

Players, sponsors, and fans have together raised more than $1.2m for Ukraine’s Crisis Relief Fund. It reflects the power of cooperation and strength of feeling. Various players from Ukraine participated in the exhibition matches. But what caught everybody’s attention was the presence of 98-year-old Leonid Stanislavskyi. He created history to become the oldest competitive tennis player on the planet.

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Moreover, he is likely to make an appearance at the Down Under in 2023. He will be a part of the clash of the centurions’ style match with fellow nonagenarian Henry Young. Also, Stanislavskyi’s journey is quite overwhelming as he defied all odds in his country due to war and still continued playing. As he continues to play and break new records, the ITF has decided to raise money for the 98-year-old.

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One of his fellow competitors on the ITF Masters Tour created a page called GoFundMe. The money will completely be used for his ongoing costs and expenditure with the aim of safeguarding Stanislavskyi’s immediate future. It has been quite interesting to see him play and bring laurels to his country at such an age.

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ITF President made a huge claim on the possibility of points being awarded for the Davis Cup

ITF President David Haggerty with Davis Cup trophy (Image Credit: The New York Times)
ITF President David Haggerty with Davis Cup trophy (Image Credit: The New York Times)

Previously World No 1 Iga Swiatek had bashed the tennis federation over poor scheduling of matches. Due to the tight schedule, Swiatek pointed out the fact that she had to miss the Billie Jean King Cup. Davis Cup is one of the oldest tournaments in tennis history where players compete to represent their countries.

This time, ITF has been under scrutiny from the start of the year for various reasons. This time, ITF President David Haggerty made a shocking revelation that players do not look for ranking points while playing for the country. He stated that it isn’t necessary to focus on it now, rather other issues need to be addressed.

Haggerty referred to the current events of ATP, with the upcoming inaugural edition of the United Cup, Davis Cup, once again becoming the only men’s event. And ITF has been in discussion with the ATP to come to an agreement that allocates Davis Cup a more important place in the calendar. The format would potentially remain unchanged, with a qualifying phase, a group stage, and a final phase.

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