"Russia getting what it fully deserves" - Former Ukrainian pro-Alexandr Dolgopolov blames catastrophic Orenburg dam bursting, flooding on corruption

Former Ukrainian Tennis player Alexandr Dolgopolov reacted very strongly to the ongoing flood in the Russian city of Orenburg, blaming it on the corruption going on in the country.

Orenburg is currently facing one of the most catastrophic floods in decades, which have caused the evacuation of thousands of people. The water levels rose significantly in the Ural River, causing the collapse of the dam on Saturday.

Former tennis player Alexandr Dolgopolov gave his take on the floods. The Ukrainian said that Russia wasn getting what it "fully deserved" and said that the floods occurred due to the corruption in the country.

''Ruzzia(Russia) getting what it fully deserves. Because of giant corruption, dam collapsed and flooding city’s. Enjoy, Orenburg. Spend more money, for wars.''

According to local officials, the dam in Orsk, one of the majorly affected areas, was built for a water level of 5.5 meters but the Ural River rose to 9.6m, causing the burst. The Ural River is the longest in Europe.

"Tennis is a small war as well" - Alexandr Dolgopolov on how the sport prepared him for war

Dolgopolov during the 2018 Australian Open

Former World No. 13 Alexandr Dolgopolov last played a competitive match in 2018 against Novak Djokovic at that year's Italian Open in Rome. He officially announced his retirement from tennis in 2021.

The Ukrainian became a volunteer in 2022 to help his nation fight in the war against Russia. In an interview in 2023, Dolgopolov spoke on how tennis prepared him for war, calling the sport a "small war".

Tennis is a small war as well. You need to be mentally strong as well. You need to take fast decisions, you deal with high pressure, nerves and everything. You can transfer that to the war as well in another way. But I believe that for me, it is a little bit easier than for just a regular person," the 35-year-old told BBC Radio 4 as quoted by Express.

Alexandr Dolgopolov won three singles titles throughout his career, with the 2012 Citi Open in Washington being his most notable achievement. The Ukrainian's best performance at a Grand Slam came in 2011 when he reached the Australian Open quarterfinals.

He also reached the semifinals of two Masters 1000 events at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the 2015 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.