“You have these terrible views”
Ukrainian tennis star attacks Russian opponent
May 31, 2026 – 8:42 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is also still an issue in tennis. Oleksandra Oliynykova is now attacking her Russian opponent particularly loudly.
Following the third round duel at the French Open against Diana Schnaider, the Ukrainian tennis player Oleksandra Oliynykova renewed her accusations against her Russian opponent in emotional words. “I know that some would prefer that I remain silent. But what I do is not about politics, but about humanity,” said Olijnykova after the 5:7, 1:6 against Schnaider on Saturday in Paris.
Before the duel, Olijnykova had already accused Schnaider of playing at an event sponsored by the Russian state-owned company Gazprom. She also likes posts by Russian propagandists on social media. Gazprom is a company “that finances war crimes,” the 25-year-old said, drawing comparisons to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
“Can’t pretend nothing’s happening”
“When people are killed, when children die, when violence is justified or celebrated, we cannot pretend that nothing is happening,” said the Ukrainian. “We cannot look away. We cannot protect those who support such actions.”
Players like her have a “responsibility that goes beyond tennis, because sport should always be in the service of humanity,” said Olijnykova. The Russian players “simply don’t want to communicate”. “They have these terrible views. That’s exactly what we’re seeing on the tour. I don’t think we can tolerate that anymore in professional sports. If they don’t want to listen and continue to spread this propaganda, then there should be a mechanism within our tour to put an end to it.”
Schnaider said she was “on the road all year round” about her participation in the criticized event: “I don’t see my family or my friends, and this is the only opportunity to just spend a little more time at home.”
“I don’t know what she discovered there”
The Russian said at her press conference that she would now “no longer like any comments or videos” on Instagram: “But to be honest, I don’t know what she discovered there. I’m just here to play tennis and not to talk about Instagram or video likes.”
