"How we can play against the terroristic country?" - Dayana Yastremska on emotional toil of playing against Russian players as an Ukrainian

Dayana Yastremska has spoken out on the difficulty of Ukrainian players facing players from Russia and Belarus amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

There have been several instances over the past few months when Ukrainian players did not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players after matches. The most recent instance occurred on the opening day of the French Open when Marta Kostyuk did not engage in a post-match handshake with Aryna Sabalenka and was booed by the crowd for this.

On Monday after her first-round loss to 22nd seed Donna Vekic in Paris, Yastremska was asked about how she felt as a Ukrainian player knowing that they had to face players from Russia and Belarus. The 23-year-old admitted that she and other players from Ukraine did not feel good going out on the court and facing players representing Russia, which she dubbed a "terroristic country."

"very single tournament, same question, how we feel. We said already our position. We don't feel really good. Like, how we can go on court and play against people who like Russia, against the terroristic country? How? It's difficult emotionally," Yastremska said at the post-match press conference.

"So better ask them how they feel playing against us. Do they feel good or no? That would be better to ask them those questions," she added.

Dayana Yastremska qualified for the main draw of the French Open following wins over Alexandra Cadantu, Sachia Vickery and Greet Minnen. However, her campaign ended in the first round of the main draw in a 6-2, 7-5 loss at the hands of Donna Vekic.

"That wasn't really nice" - Dayana Yastremska on French Open crowd booing Marta Kostyuk

Dayana Yastremska during the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers

Dayana Yastremska said that she was not surprised with Marta Kostyuk not shaking hands with Aryna Sabalenka and criticized the crowd for booing her compatriot.

"I think, well, since the war started, everybody said, Ukrainians, that we're not going to shake the hands against Russians and Belarusian players," Yastremska said. "There's nothing surprising for everybody. How people reacted and that Marta didn't shake the hand against Sabalenka, well, I actually didn't expect this reaction. That wasn't really nice."

The World No. 144 also said that she supported the decision taken by Ukrainian players not to shake hands with their Russian and Belarusian counterparts.

"I'm actually supporting this because I played against Russians, and I also didn't shake the hand. That's our position, and everybody knew about this, so there is nothing wrong about it," the Ukrainian said.

Dayana Yastremska has so far won just three WTA tour main-draw matches out of 13 in the 2023 season.