PARIS, France<\/strong> \u2014 Oleksandra Oliynykova, whom <\/span>Bounces <\/em>readers have heard from twice already this season, continued to be one of the most compelling figures on tour on Tuesday evening at Roland Garros, where she arrived at her press conference determined to tell her story to perhaps the largest and most attentive audience yet.<\/span><\/p>\n 15% Off During 2026 French Open<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Since there are a lot of new subscribers here recently (welcome!), a quick refresher:<\/p>\n Oliynykova <\/span>first spoke to <\/a>Bounces<\/a><\/em> ahead of her Grand Slam debut in Melbourne this January, discussing the realities of training in Ukraine while bombs continue to fall on the country.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/div>\n During the Italian Open earlier this month, <\/span>Oliynykova chatted with <\/a>Bounces <\/a><\/em>again<\/a> and described the tension that has developed between herself and WTA officials who have urged her not to speak about players whom she believes are supporting Russia\u2019s invasion by direct or indirect means.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/div>\n Both of these stories were among the most popular at <\/span>Bounces <\/em>so far this year, and so I was curious to follow Oliynykova both on and off the court here at Roland Garros.<\/span><\/p>\n It was a big day for her here on Tuesday: she notched her first main draw win at a major by handily beating Russian qualifier Elena Pridankina 6-1, 6-2. <\/span>After the win<\/a>, Oliynykova took a Ukrainian flag and ran to her father, Denis, who she said is on leave from the Ukrainian Army. He has been with her both last week in Strasbourg and this week in Paris, and fortuitously could be present during one of the biggest moments of his daughter\u2019s career so far.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was very important for me that my father saw my first Grand Slam win in real life,\u201d Oliynykova said near the beginning of her press conference. \u201cWhen I finished the match, I took the Ukrainian flag and I came to my father and I said, \u2018You saw it! You saw my first win in a Slam.\u2019 Yeah, that\u2019s very special; my first match, I\u2019m going to win it only once. I\u2019m very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n But it wasn\u2019t long before the topics shifted toward the area in which Oliynykova has become singularly outspoken: the Russian invasion and bombardment of Ukraine, which continues while the tennis tour goes on in what she sees as oblivious dereliction of a moral duty.<\/p>\n 15% Off During 2026 French Open<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The first question which set Oliynykova in motion on Tuesday centered on the nationality of her opponent today, and how she processes having to face a Russian.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course I can talk about this element,\u201d Oliynykova began. \u201cFor me, when I play, I\u2019m professional and I\u2019m doing my work. One day I can win; the other day I lose. And I mean, this is a part of my job. The thing is, it doesn\u2019t affect me on the court.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we need to understand that this match and making a show from this, it\u2019s not fair,\u201d Oliynykova continued. She then pulled out her phone and showed an image of the screen which she described as a tennis center in Ukraine which had been hit by Russian bombs.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n Later in the press conference, Oliynykova added that these bombed-out courts were ones she\u2019d trained on in her youth.<\/p>\n \u201cThe courts where I spent my childhood,\u201d she said of Lyodovyi (\u041b\u044c\u043e\u0434\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0439) in Kyiv. \u201cI was practicing there for so many years. And yeah, of course, when I saw this\u2026I mean, this is a huge part of my childhood memories. When I see something like this happening, it hurts me so much, and this is something so painful to see.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the tennis club\u2019s Instagram<\/a>, it was bombed just two days ago, on Sunday, May 24.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI can show you what the Russians did during the attack [on] the tennis court,\u201d Oliynykova said as she held up her phone. \u201cYou can see what\u2019s happening to the tennis courts in Ukraine. Many of our athletes went to war to defend Ukraine\u2014they died. Some [were] killed as a civilian in their own home. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd the thing is that, these players here, they are a part of propaganda. They are staying silent, and by [doing] this, they are supporting the regime. They\u2019re giving their agreement to the regime. Many players are <\/span>actively<\/em> participating in propaganda. By their activity on social media, by participation in the Gazprom tournament: they are active Putin supporters.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Oliynykova, as she did in our last interview, drew a line connecting tacit support of the Russian regime and normalizing of the war. <\/p>\n \u201cPart of the reason [for the war] are the people who are participating in Russia propaganda,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are normalizing aggression against Ukraine. Regular Russians will see that their favorite tennis players\u2014these girls and men here who we see, these famous people with a lot of influence and money which they are earning on these tournaments\u2014they are kind of re-investing this [influence], if you understand me, [in] support of propaganda. And we need to speak about this.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this silence here on tour, for me, it\u2019s very triggering,\u201d Oliynykova continued. \u201cSo there is a part, when I\u2019m on court with a racquet, it\u2019s different. But this part, [outside of the] court, this is something that we need to speak about more. And the sports organizations need to do something about this. Because here, they are getting a platform\u2014this publicity and money and influence\u2014which they will use for the things I showed, these horrible things. While in Ukraine, people are dying, our courts are being destroyed, our sports facilities are destroyed. Here, we need to stop to pretend like nothing is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n As Oliynykova spoke in the open-sided Interview Room 3, I could see more and more reporters coming to listen at the perimeter of the space, rapt by what she was saying and the force with which she said it. I also want to note that Oliynykova\u2019s press conference was being moderated by a senior WTA communications official, who did nothing at any point to limit questions or Oliynykova\u2019s answers to them. In this week where the lengths of press conferences became a talking point, Oliynykova\u2019s went for 12 minutes in English and another six minutes in Ukrainian.<\/p>\n 15% Off During 2026 French Open<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n After saying that she got support from international players on tour\u2014 \u201csometimes these little things help you to feel better, and of course there are so many people who are supportive to Ukrainians\u201d\u2014Oliynykova was asked about the possibility of Russian and Belarusian players being able to play again with their country\u2019s flags next to their names, rather than as \u201cneutrals\u201d. In some sports this revision has already begun recently; the <\/span>IOC even recommended reinstating Belarusians with full status<\/a>. The International Tennis Federation, however, <\/span>has not shifted its position<\/a> so far:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe International Tennis Federation confirms that the IOC\u2019s announcement does not change its existing position regarding the Belarus and Russian Tennis Federations\u2019 suspensions which remain in place.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201dThe membership status of the Belarus Tennis Federation will be considered at the ITF Annual General Meeting in October by the ITF\u2019s voting member nations in accordance with ITF constitutional process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Oliynykova addressed the Russian flag with the language that has become familiar to me over our conversations this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThis flag is a symbol of terror,\u201d Oliynykova began. \u201cThis flag is something that the Russian soldiers are [flying] after they are destroying the city completely. The cities where they\u2019re coming with only one intention: to destroy, to kill, to rape, to steal. These symbols are horrible. This is something absolutely unacceptable, and for Ukrainians, it is very traumatizing. <\/p>\n \u201cWe need to understand what this means right now,\u201d Oliynykova continued. \u201cIn the modern context, using something like this [flag], it\u2019s the same thing like using, I don\u2019t know, a swastika. Let\u2019s go on court with a swastika. This is absolutely the same\u2014I see zero difference in this. And the fact that now this is under any discussion, it\u2019s horrible. It would be, for me, very interesting to see the arguments for this, you know? But this is very unfair, and this is absolutely immoral.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliynykova then suggested that, as the war continues, memories of the initial outrage it caused have faded due to time.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the world is forgetting who Russians are in the reality, and that there\u2019s propaganda which they are sharing,\u201d she said, adding that Russian propaganda has also been \u201caggressive\u201d toward other European countries. <\/p>\n \u201cLike Germany, Estonia, Poland. Latvia, Lithuania\u2014a lot of them, all these countries,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to understand what\u2019s going on with this world when we even have this discussion. This is absolutely unacceptable for me.\u201d<\/p>\n A German reporter then asked Oliynykova how Russian players acted toward her in private on the tour; she asserted that their public behavior (or their lack of repudiation) already showed their characters fully.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are not trying to understand, because they don\u2019t care,\u201d Oliynykova said. \u201cThey don\u2019t care that Ukrainians are dying. If they would care, these people, they have influence [they could use]. They are famous. They have fans. They have people who are listening to them. [Instead], they are silent.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they are not coming, even in private, because they are supporting all these horrible things,\u201d she added. \u201cWe need to understand this [clearly]. I will repeat this as many times as I need [to], and I want people to hear me: Of course not. They don\u2019t care. They are supporting Putin and Lukashenko.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/$s_!9McH!,w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa3d971ea-f6b4-4beb-8973-4e44aa78c698_810x462.jpeg\"\/)
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