“Used to be rackets… Now This” Ukrainian Tennis ace Alexandr Dolgopolov joins Sergiy Stakhovsky in the fight against Russia
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Alexandr Dolgopolov, Vladimir Putin, Sergiy Stakhovsky
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused global turmoil, and the Ukrainian sports community has banded together to fight Russia.
Alexandr Dolgopolov, a former Ukrainian tennis player, announced on Wednesday that he had returned to Ukraine to protect his homeland during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “I already started practising shooting, and I was very lucky that a ex professional soldier taught me for 5-7 days,” The Ukrainian tennis sensation shared via Instagram.
The former World No. 13 was residing in Turkey along with his sister and mother. However, upon getting the news of the invasion, he wasted no time in returning to his homeland. “Once I found a few guys planning to go to Ukraine from the U.S. … we started our travel. Took some bulletproof vests for us and our army, flew to Zagreb … and I drove through Europe, and entered Ukraine from Poland, and at last, I am in Kyiv.”
Alexandr Dolgopolov went on to share an image of a gun and gear on Twitter shortly afterwards, with the caption, “Used to be rackets and strings, now this.”
The Ukrainian is now looking forward to contributing to the fight and helping his compatriots after reaching the semifinals of the 2011 Australian Open, and a career-high ranking of No. 13 in January 2012.
“Proud to be Ukrainian,” Former Ukrainian tennis ace Sergiy Stakhovsky has joined the military too
Alongside Alexandr Dolgopolov, another former Ukrainian tennis ace Sergiy Stakhovsky joined the military to take part in the fight.
Stakhovsky, 36, a four-time ATP Tour champion who shot to fame after defeating Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013, said he joined the military and was looking forward to returning to his homeland to assist in battle. He announced on social media that he was “proud to be Ukrainian” and that he supported the country’s military forces. “I am proud of @ukraine_defence I am proud of @national_guard_of_ukraine I am proud of my president @zelenskiy_official I am proud of every Ukrainian. I am proud to be Ukrainian. Believe in our military … believe in our invincibility. Glory to Ukraine,” he wrote in the post.
Nevertheless, apart from Alexandr Dolgopolov and Sergiy Stakhovsky, Vasiliy Lomachenko, the former world lightweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, has returned home to help protect the town of Belgorod-Dnestrovsky near Odessa.
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Pritha Ghosh
(414 Articles Published)