Ukraine cherishes “every single athlete we have” as they might be the country’s “last star shining”, says former tennis player Sergiy Stakhovsky.
The 37-year-old retired from tennis at the Australian Open in January 2022 to join Ukraine’s reserve army.
“Ukraine, in terms of sport, has been crippled for generations to come,” the 37-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Stakhovsky also criticised the decision to allow Russian athletes to compete as neutrals at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Athletes from Russia and its key ally Belarus who have qualified as individuals for next year’s Games will compete without flags, emblems or anthems of their country.
This includes competitors who were previously banned following the invasion nearly two years ago, but teams representing the two nations will not feature.
Speaking from an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Stakhovsky, who famously beat Roger Federer in 2013 at Wimbledon, highlighted the number of athletes from the country who had lost their lives while fighting in the conflict.
According to the United Nations,, external at least 10,000 civilians, including more than 560 children, have been killed since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
“It’s going to be very hard for Ukraine to come back,” said Stakhovsky.
“So we cherish every single athlete we have competing because we understand that might be our last star shining.”
While other high-profile Ukrainian sport stars have spoken out against the war, Stakhovsky feels more Russian athletes should publicly condemn the invasion.
Russian tennis players Andrey Rublev and Daria Kasatkina have spoken out against the war in recent years.
Rublev, 26, wrote an anti-war message on a camera lens at the Dubai Tennis Championship in 2022, while Kasatkina, 26, called for an end to the fighting on a Russian video blog in the same year.
“I do believe that if all the sports and all the people in Russia who are against the war would be the same vocal as [Kasatkina] was, there would be a completely different picture,” Stakhovsky said.
In December, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said “individual athletes cannot be punished for the acts of their governments” as he explained the IOC’s decision for next summer’s Olympics in Paris.
Bach added that letting individuals compete was “respecting human rights”.
“It’s an absolute joke, in my opinion,” said Stakhovsky.
“[Russian athletes] all say they are scared for their lives, for their families, but truth is no one lives in Russia any more. None of them live in Russia.
“For me, they don’t want to be part of the criticism, they don’t want to lose their fans back in Russia, so they with roll it.
“We have to look for athletes who support, we have to present evidence to the Olympic committee, and then maybe, if they believe that this is enough, they will not allow these athletes to compete.”
