Anna Karolina Shmidlova, who is ranked 100th in the WTA ranking, reached the 1/8 finals of Roland Garros, and the athlete from Slovakia distinguished herself by the way she expressed her support for players from Ukraine.

>> War in Ukraine, day 466. All events of Sunday, June 4 – LiveText on HotNews.ro.

Anna Karolina Shmidlova, dressed in the colors of Ukraine for a match with Russian Veronika Kudermetova

Shmidlova distinguished herself from the first day of the competition in Paris, when she defeated Veronika Kudermetova (11th seed) in the opening round with a score of 6-3, 6-1.

Usually, the Slovak is dressed in a simple suit, but during the match with an athlete from Russia, he chose clothes in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. After the match, Shmidlova posted on Instagram a photo and two hearts: yellow and blue.

When asked if it was all a coincidence or a deliberate gesture of support for Ukraine, Anna was initially slow to answer, giving the impression that she was not sure how much detail she could reveal.

“Hmm… That’s a difficult question. I do not hide that I definitely support Ukraine. I am rooting for Ukrainian athletes in Paris.

Some of them are my best friends in women’s tennis. I am closer to them. I try to understand their problems when they tell me they can’t go home.

This is a very difficult situation, because I personally have no problems with Russian tennis players. I don’t want to get into politics, but Ukrainians can count on my support” – Anna Karolina Shmidlova for sport.pl, after defeating Kayla Day in the third round.

​Anna Karolina Shmidlova: “The war is close to my home”

When she found out that the journalist who was asking her was from Poland, Shmidlova took courage. She reported that her family is from Košice, a city located in the eastern part of Slovakia, not far from the border with Ukraine (only 300 km from Lviv).

“Maybe that’s why I perceive the current situation a little more acutely than others. My family comes from Kosice. Now there are many Ukrainians in the city. I feel that the war is close to my home. This is a very difficult situation. I am categorically against war, but I understand that Ukrainians must fight.

However, I know how to separate sports from politics. why Because I have a home to return to, my family is safe. Many Ukrainian players cannot return home. They have to travel from one tour to another with no chance of returning home anytime soon.

Many players are crying. They fear for their families, for their friends. Therefore, I do not think that in their case politics and sports should be separated. I know they can’t just focus on tennis” – Anna Karolina Shmidlova.

• Anna Karolina Schmidlova defeats Coco Gauff (6th favorite) in the Round of 16 at Roland Garros.
  

>> INTERVIEW – The future of tennis without Federer, Nadal and Djokovic – Plus the case of Simona Halep: “You sacrifice those who are no longer 15 or 20 years old”

Veronika Kudermetova and her husband challenge: “She praises Vladimir Putin”

Kudermetova is considered the tennis player closest to the Kremlin. It is the only company sponsored by Tatneft (one of Russia’s oil giants and owners), a company that has been sanctioned by the European Union.

Veronica played without the company logo on her equipment at Roland Garros, after wearing it in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome.

“I know from various sources that she is probably the most anti-Ukrainian of all tennis players” – Diego Barbianioktennis.it journalist.

In the tennis environment, information is spreading about the husband of the Russian athlete Serhiy Demekhin, who also trains her.

Mykyta Vlasov, coach of the Ukrainian national team Lesi Tsurenko, said that Demekhin “praised Putin in the company of other coaches.”