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Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina described herself as “on a mission for her country” as she performed a U-turn to take on Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova in Monterrey.
The world No15 had previously refused to take on any Russian or Belarusian opponent but backtracked after the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced the removal of all national symbols, flags and anthems from players of both nations.
Svitolina, who wore a yellow top and blue skirt to mark the colours of Ukraine amid the ongoing invasion by Russia, said after her 6-2 6-1 victory: “Today, it was a very special match for me. I’m in a very sad mood but I’m happy that I’m playing tennis here.
“I was focused. I was on a mission for my country. From the beginning, it was very important to be ready for anything that comes my way.”
The tournament No1 seed never looked in danger of defeat as she broke her Russian opponent in her opening service game and again in the next game. From there, she wrapped up the win in just over an hour to set up a meeting with Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova.
Svitolina also revealed that she would not be keeping any of the prize money at a tournament with a top prize of £23,000.
She said: “All the prize money that I’m going to earn is going to be for the Ukrainian army.”
While the Russian flag, symbols and anthem have been banned from international tennis tournaments and Russian and Belarusian teams will not be able to compete in team events like the Davis Cup or Fed Cup for the foreseeable future, the ITF decided that players from the two countries could continue to play on both the ATP and WTA Tours as neutrals.
There had previously been doubts about the participation of the likes of recently-crowned men’s world No1 Daniil Medvedev, who was given the all-clear to continue playing in a joint decision by the ITF, ATP and WTA.