"This May, my city was bombed 16 times" - Disappointed Lesia Tsurenko opens up about life on tour as a Ukrainian
Lesia Tsurenko talked about the continued bombing going on in Ukraine after her first round win at the 2023 French Open in an emotional press conference.
Tsurenko defeated Barbora Krejcikova in the first round of the 2023 French Open in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, reaching the second round of the tournament for the first time since 2019.
After the match, the World No. 66 was asked how she felt as an Ukranian tennis player, regarding the support from the WTA, her happiness, and if more things could be done for her and her compatriots.
"I said many times I think that a lot of false information is spread about Ukrainians and about the help for Ukrainians. I can ask an easy question, like what been made for Lesia Tsurenko, and the answer is nothing," Tsurenko said during the post-match press conference.
The Ukranian stated "there are many issues" even after 15 months of the war in Ukraine.
"I feel a lot of disappointment. I feel a lot of, I don't know, let's call it disappointment. I also feel that for the last few months, a lot of false information was spread by top players saying that we are aggressive or we spread hate, which is very strange for me, honestly."
"Definitely some days if I have unhappy face, it's just because, you know, my city was probably bombed I think 16 times in May only. Only in May. Yeah, this May my city was bombed 16 times," Tsurenko added.
She continued explaining what is going on in her home city of Kyiv, revealing how a rocket landed very close to her home just yesterday.
"Yesterday part of the rocket landed 100 meters away from my home. This can make me unhappy, you know, and probably I'm not sometimes -- my face is not super happy just because of that. Not because I go into the locker room and I'm, like, spreading hate towards someone," the 33-year-old commented.
One of the topics of Tsurenko's answer was what happened during Marta Kostyuk's match in Paris, where the 20-year-old was booed after her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in the first round.
"I think also what happened at Marta's match is the consequence of that, that people are getting a bit wrong information. This is just a consequence of that. So I think that young, talented girl from the country that is struggling right now from war does not deserve that. Yeah, that's my opinion," Tsurenko concluded.
Lesia Tsurenko to play Lauren Davis in the second round of the 2023 French Open
Lesia Tsurenko will now face Lauren Davis in the second round of this year's Roland Garros.
It will be just the second head-to-head matchup between the American and the Ukranian, with Tsurenko winning the last one. She was victorious in the first round of the 2018 Acapulco Open, 6-4, 6-1.
While Lesia Tsurenko defeated Barbora Krejcikova in the first round of the 2023 French Open, Davis outclassed Lin Zhu 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round.
The 33-year-old has won her first round match of the French Open for just the fourth time in her career. Her best result in Paris is the fourth round in 2018, where she had to retire during the first set against Garbine Muguruza.