Remember last Sunday's final at WTA250 Lyon? China's Jinhua Zhang Shuai defeated Ukrainian player Dayana Yastremska (hereinafter referred to as IELTS) 3-6-6-3 6-4. After Svitolina donated the tournament prize money from Monterrey to her home country, IELTS also announced that it would donate $18,037 to her home country the runner-up prize money won by this station.
After the end of the competition in Lyon, the two champions and runners-up set off for Indian Wells in the United States for the first WTA 1000 race of the year, and it is reported that IELTS received a wild card from Indian Wells at the last minute.
Zhang Shuai and IELTS both chose singles and doubles in Indian Wells, and after Zhang Shuai singled out, his doubles partner Stosur was also out of the first round; IELTS singles out, and the doubles partner sister was also out of the first round.
At Indian Wells, almost all Ukrainian players appear in yellow and blue, the color of their flag.
On March 10, Russian player Kalinskaya received a retirement salute from her opponent in the first round of a 6-2 1-0 lead, wearing tennis shoes with the words "NO WAR" (Stop The War), a move that became a hot spot in Indian Wells news coverage that day.
On March 11, 54th-ranked Ukrainian player Kostyuk narrowly defeated Ukrainian Belgian player Zanievska 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6) 7-5 in the first round, both wearing blue and yellow clothes. After the game, which lasted more than 3 hours, the two embraced for a long time.
Koscyuk, who was only 19, shared the horror and anger of the war after the game, "My whole family is in Ukraine, they all live together, and if something happens I lose my whole family, it makes people crazy to think about this." I read the news every morning and contact my family to confirm their safety. Unfortunately and disappointingly, not a single Russian player came to me to apologize to their country for what we did. Every time I come to the scene and see all these players, I feel a lot of pain. I certainly can't blame them because they're victims too, but what I hear Russian players talk about the most is that they can't transfer money and goods out of Russia, which is unacceptable to me. ”
Previously, Russian players Medvedev, Rublev, Pavlyuchenkova and others have also called for peace through different forms.
Bill Simons, who has 42 years of experience in tennis news reporting, told Medvedev at a news conference on March 9: "You have made a great rise to the top of our sport and are now an important international figure. You have eloquently expressed your desire to promote peace... And how our sport of tennis does it. What have you heard from your friends in Russia, from your people? ”
Medvedev replied, "You know, that's the political state of the whole world, both in good times and in bad times." Everybody in any country in the world, and you bring ten people, there are ten different points of view. The general opinion will be the same, but if you dig into the details, it will be different. The same goes for my friends in Russia. They all have different opinions, and in these moments, we... Talked a lot about politics, but I tried not to talk too much because... Everyone has a different opinion and I respect everyone's opinion... Every country has different moments, different paths, different roots.
"So I was able to answer that question in 20, 10, or even 5 years, and now I don't have the answer." I think we'll know more in 20 years. There is still secret, yet to be made public, but we will learn more about what happened and how it ended later. ”
Earlier this week, seven tennis organizations, including the ITF, ATP, WTA and the Four Grand Slams, decided to each set aside $100,000, for a total of $700,000 for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. The Big Seven tennis organizations have also launched an initiative called Tennis Plays for Peace, "designed to bring the tennis community and fans together in support of humanitarian relief efforts in the war in Ukraine," with donation links on their respective websites.
In addition, the three major tennis organizations of ITF, ATP and WTA have also replaced the avatars of official social media with yellow and blue ribbons to express concern about the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and appeal to people to donate to it. AtP and WTA also distribute physical ribbons to players so they can wear them on clothing during Indian Wells matches.
On March 8, British player Murray announced that he would donate all the prize money for the rest of the season to help children in Ukraine. Murray, a UNICEF ambassador, wrote on social media: "More than 7.5 million children are at risk of escalating the conflict in Ukraine, so I am working with UNICEF to help provide emergency medical supplies and early childhood development kits." Vital education continues, so UNICEF is working to give displaced children access to learning opportunities and support the rehabilitation of damaged schools and the replacement of equipment and furniture. ”
In the first round of the Indian Wells Masters, which ended at 5 a.m. Beijing time today, Murray won his 700th career victory with a 1-6 6-2 6-4 victory over Daniel Taro. Murray's tournament prize money for the first two months of this year has reached $257,000 (before tax), and he is expected to earn more than $1 million in prize money from the remaining races this year. It is worth mentioning that the tax laws of most countries are tax-exempt or taxed at a very low rate for public welfare donations, and if Murray can fulfill his donation commitments, his donation is almost the amount of pre-tax bonuses published on the ATP website.
Sharapova, a retired Russian player, wrote on social media: "Over time, this escalating crisis in Ukraine has affected many families and children, which has left me with increasing heartbreak and grief. I am donating to save the children's Crisis Relief Fund, which works tirelessly to provide food, water and assistance kits to support those in need. Please donate with me. I pray for peace and express my love and support to all those affected. ”
On March 9, russian-American Anisimova won $150,000 in a 10-7 victory over Sakari in Greece in the final of the Show Race in Indian Wells, whose parents are from Russia said she would donate some of the prize money to disaster relief efforts in Ukraine.
(Source: Tennis House Author: Yun Cirrus Yunshu)