Ukrainian tennis players such as Lesia Tsurenko would be seriously affected if the Ukraine NOC goes ahead with banning its players from events which allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutrals ©Getty Images

Ukraine’s tennis federation and leading players have said any decision by the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine to ban them from competing with Russians and Belarusians would lead to "the destruction of Ukrainian tennis".

The message was announced in a statement by the Ukrainian Tennis Federation (UTF) press service, as reported by Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"With this appeal, we express a common position regarding the possible decision of the NOC on a complete boycott by the players of all international tournaments where Russians or Belarusians play," the UTF statement said.

"Such a decision will lead to the destruction of Ukrainian tennis, because players from these countries take part in almost every competition, and will become a sanction not against the Russians, but against the Ukrainians.

"If Russians and Belarusians are allowed to compete, you need to play with them and win, and not avoid the battle.

The Ukrainian Tennis Federation has said banning players from events where Russians and Belarusians are allowed to compete as neutrals would lead to the
The Ukrainian Tennis Federation has said banning players from events where Russians and Belarusians are allowed to compete as neutrals would lead to the "destruction of Ukrainian tennis" ©Getty Images

"We stand with the position of continuing to compete in international competitions, intensifying the fight for the removal of players from Russia and Belarus."

The letter of appeal was signed by President of the UTF, Sergiy Lagur, as well as members of the national team Angelina Kalinina, Dayana Yastremska, Katarina Zavatskaya, Nadezhda Kichenok, Alexander Ovcharenko, Vladislav Orlov and Ilya Beloborodko.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled in 2022 that Russia and Belarus were suspended from team competitions, but that players from the two countries were eligible to compete in Association of Tennis Professionals and Women's Tennis Association tournaments with neutral status.

On March 9 it emerged that the Latvian NOC had begun to implement a process instigated by the Ministry of Education and Science of stopping funding for athletes participating in tournaments in which representatives of Russia and Belarus also performed.

The list of those affected included the winner of the 2017 French Open Jelena Ostapenko, and two others.

But later the Minister of Education and Science of Latvia, Anda Caksha, stated that Ostapenko would continue to receive funding from the state budget.