Sergiy Stakhovsky on the streets of Kiev is a former top-tier tour player who hopes Elina Svitolina will succeed in SW19. Photo: AFP/Sergei Supinsky
While Elina Svitolina prepares for Thursday's semi-finals against Czech No. 7 Marketa Vondrousova, her friend Sergei Stakhovsky has a very different path leading into the trenches on the road to Mariupol.
< p> At 37, Stakhovsky is nine years older than Svitolina, but in his early twenties he was the best player in Ukraine. The skilled net player's career peaked when he kicked Roger Federer out of Wimbledon in 2013.
However, on Thursday, Stakhovsky is part of a military unit that is being trained in an enclave near Kiev. “I have to return to the front on Monday,” he told Telegraph Sport. «Hopefully it will be a happy Monday after a happy Saturday if Elina wins the title.»
Stakhovsky says all of Ukraine drew inspiration from Svitolina's exploits last week. The two players have been friends for over a decade and are now collaborating in the upcoming Svitolina & The Stakhovsky Tennis Tour hopes to revive competitive sport in ravaged cities like Bucha.
However, Stakhovsky also admits that after several months of fighting, civilian life does not seem easy to him.
“It is difficult,” he said, “but we don’t have gray stripes at the front. It is black and white: there is nothing in between. In Kiev, you start to see different colors of politics and real life, and this is strange.”
Svitolina& #39; the Wimbledon race provides a much-needed mood in Ukraine. Photo: AFP/Daniel Leal
“The atmosphere here is more upbeat from the front,” Stakhovsky added. “People here live with the thought that victory is near. There are people who do not understand what the price of an advance is. When you jump into the trenches, there are many different scenarios and anything can happen. I always carry a rifle. I have been in situations where Russian troops were 150 meters away.”
Early in his training, which began just weeks after his participation in the 2022 Australian Open, Stakhovsky wondered if he could shoot an enemy soldier. The situation quickly changed as soon as he witnessed the devastation that the occupiers had unleashed in Bucha.
“At first I wasn’t sure how I should [pull the trigger], but once you see the damage they inflict…” he said before trailing off. “This is inhuman, absolutely inhuman behavior. When you see footage of their missile attacks on infrastructure, I have no doubts, no regrets about what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.
Stakhovsky is in constant contact with another prominent Ukrainian male player of the 2010s, Oleksiy Dolgopolov, trained as a drone operator. “I’m not sure how much I can share who he is and where he does it,” Stakhovsky said. “But we talk a lot. Recently, he went through something very difficult.
“I had another friend who lost his son, who used to play tennis. If you are on the front line, no matter what kind of work you do, you are at risk.”
To return to the sports aspirations of Stakhovsky, Svitolina & The Stakhovsky Tennis Tour was conceived as a way to kick-start tennis in a country devoid of competition.
“We lost one generation of players due to the pandemic,” said Stakhovsky, “because the kids stopped practicing and mostly went online . Then we lost the second generation when many Ukrainian players left the country as refugees with their mothers.
Stakhovsky stretches for a punch during his most famous match, defeating defending champion Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2013. Photo: AP/Alastair Grant 
Stakhovsky wants to help Ukrainian tennis get back on its feet with the help of Svitolina & Stakhovsky tennis tour. Photo: AFP/Sergey Supinsky
“Those with more talent will remain naturalized in their new countries, who will do their best to keep them. The budgets of these countries are usually much larger than in Ukraine.
“It is also difficult to find places to play. In Kyiv, the Russian army completely destroyed four tennis clubs. Damage runs into many millions of dollars, and that's just one city. Throughout the country, I saw hundreds of damaged sports facilities: gyms, basketball courts, stadiums, schools. The impact that this war will have in the future is very difficult to calculate.”
Against the backdrop of this grim scene, Svitolina's rousing run became a welcome distraction. “There is no person in Ukraine who would not follow its history,” Stakhovsky said. “All the media focus on this.
“I would say that something has changed inside Elina. She understands that she has a much more significant role than just being a tennis player while she plays. It brings joy where there is despair, brings hope where there is unhappiness. She does a lot of what Ukrainians need today.
“People loved the story of a girl who happened to be in Elina’s match [against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on Sunday]. Elina donated tickets, but this girl's father was on the front lines and she came to London as a refugee. This shows how interconnected everything is: there are people who go to Wimbledon, and their family members risk their lives at the front.”
So, Svitolina is an outstanding Ukrainian athlete at the moment? “I would say that she is. Let's hope she can win the tournament.»
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