Oleksandra Oliynykova spoke with Ukrainian Canadians this past week in Toronto prior to taking part in the National Bank Open.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
A few days before making her debut on court at the National Bank Open on Monday, Oleksandra Oliynykova was invited to speak to some Ukrainian Canadians in Toronto, about how she navigates life as a pro tennis player while representing a nation under attack.
The 25-year-old WTA player from Kyiv is one of the most outspoken Ukrainians in tennis, using her platform at every chance to make sure the world doesn’t forget Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She wants people to move beyond expressing sympathy and take meaningful action.
“So many attacks with different type of weapons, we’re living like this for over four years, and the war is not stopping for any single day,” Oliynykova told The Globe in an interview while waiting for more than 100 people to pack into a room to hear her speak at the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada’s Toronto branch.
“I live in Ukraine, I want my future to be in Ukraine, and my life is directly affected by war.”
The World No. 44 is solo on tour. It’s lonely. No coach, no family travelling with her. Her father and her boyfriend are both in Ukraine’s armed forces, actively defending the country. Oliynykova uses social media to raise money for her dad’s military unit. Asked about friendships on Tour, she doesn’t feel understood by many.
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Kyiv remains home, but she goes months without getting back. There are no commercial flights into Ukraine, so she flies into Warsaw or Budapest, then takes a lengthy train or bus ride the rest of the way, costing her two days in which she can’t practice or get to her next tennis tournament.
She says she’s been fined this year for violating the WTA’s code of conduct.
She has called out specific Russian and Belarusian tennis players by name – denouncing those who have participated in an exhibition event in Saint Petersburg sponsored by Gazprom, a company with financial links to Russia’s war. She has alleged players have displayed Russian military symbols or supported politicians who back the war. She’s asked why those players aren’t sanctioned.
“Tournaments which are sponsored by betting companies, they are banned for pro tennis players, but participation in a tournament which is sponsored by one of the main sponsors of war crimes, is okay?,” Oliynykova said this week. “It’s absurd.”
Oliynykova's unrelenting support for Ukraine, including some fundraising efforts, have conflicted with the WTA's protocols.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Oliynykova made headlines during her first Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open this year, by wearing a T-shirt to her news conference that read: “I need your help to protect Ukrainian children and women, but I can’t talk about it here.”
She is among the players from Ukraine who do not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian opponents.
“She’s not afraid to speak up, and defend the values that matter for her,” said Maksym Stolyarevskyy, a volunteer with the Ukrainian World Congress who helped put on the speaking event in Toronto this past Thursday.
“Your people are getting killed and the act of aggression is horrible and the war needs to be stopped, and you’re doing something about it. You’re not afraid to put your career at risk, to put your attractiveness to the media or some brands at risk – I respect a person like that.”
Oliynykova commends the fundraising work for Ukraine being done by players like Ukrainian world No. 9 Elina Svitolina. She wishes Ukraine’s players would get together to talk more often. Being so vocal has taken a personal toll, and she hadn’t realized how lonely this could be.
A small but vocal group of Ukrainian fans waved the blue and bright yellow flags and cheered to Oliynykova in her first-round match Monday in Toronto – a 6-4, 6-4 loss to former World No.1 – now No.66 – Karolina Pliskova.
Oliynykova will head now to play the Cincinnati Open, battling with pro life but still loving the sport she found in Ukraine at 5 – her dad’s idea for an active girl who needed something to burn off energy. He began to coach her when she was 16, until he joined the army in 2024. He still advises her from afar, watching her matches online when he can. She broke into the top 200 for the first time in July, 2025, and has shot up to a career-high ranking of 44 this year.
While happy with some good moments against Pliskova’s huge serve on Monday, Oliynykova leaves Toronto with mixed feelings. She was enriched by the meetup with Ukrainian-Canadians and tried to auction off some passes for some of those people to be her guests at the NB Open with proceeds going to that same armed forces unit, but her auction had to be abandoned over the weekend.
The WTA Tour rules state that player guest credentials are non-transferable and may not be sold, auctioned, or used as a prize or giveaway. So she had to take the auction down. The Toronto groups helping her with the auction complied by swiftly taking it offline and informed all interested bidders, although no one had paid any money yet.
“It’s showing again that in this organization, everybody is just trying to close their eyes to the war,” she said.
The WTA has stated that it remains unequivocal in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have supported its Ukrainian players since the conflict began. Its players are allowed to support causes meaningful to them, but those efforts must be conducted within Tour and tournament rules.
“I feel like everybody kind of just pretends like there is nothing happening, then there is no war, and everything is fine,” said Oliynykova. “They want to make the picture that like we’re just girls who are playing tennis and everything is fun and everything is nice, and then the war is like somewhere over there.”
The large number of Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian players on the WTA Tour – and the fact that they can face each other on court at nearly every event – means tennis feels the impact of the conflict more than nearly any other global sport.
“Some players are tired to speak about this now. I’m not,” said Oliynykova. “For me, it’s something I’m living with every day.”