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On Tuesday, the world No. 92 suffered a 7-6 6-1 loss to reigning champion Madison Keys at Melbourne\u2019s Rod Laver Arena, knocked out of the Australian Open in the first round<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oliynykova raced to a 4-0 lead in the first set as the ninth-seeded Keys struggled to adapt to her unorthodox moonballs, but the American rediscovered her mojo and cruised towards a straight-sets triumph. <\/p>\n The 25-year-old, with temporary blue and white flowers dotted on her face, waved a Ukraine flag after the match, attending her post-match press conference donning a shirt emblazoned with the slogan: \u201cI need your help to protect Ukrainian women and children but I can\u2019t talk about it here.\u201d<\/p>\n Under grand slam guidelines, players are prohibited from making political statements at competition venues.<\/p>\n Offered the opportunity to respond to Oliynykova\u2019s claims, Sabalenka was very brief. <\/p>\n \u201cI have spoken a lot about that before, obviously. I want peace, and if I could change anything, I would definitely do that,\u201d she said in her post-match media conference. <\/p>\n \u201cOther than that, I have nothing else to say.\u201d<\/p>\n Emotional Inglis wins in three-set epic | 02:50<\/p>\n Asked about her father after the match, Oliynykova responded: \u201cHe is my biggest supporter and has been since childhood.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so proud of him and that\u2019s something that\u2019s keeping me motivated even more.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter he joined the military, I have improved my ranking over 200 places.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it was his dream to see me on this court and I would do everything to make him proud.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me it was an amazing match – he just texted me and I made his dream come true.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat could be a bigger motivation?\u201d<\/p>\n Oliynykova also revealed there was a Russian drone attack near her home in Kyiv the night before she travelled to Australia for the grand slam tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was explosion just near my home, and a drone hit the home just across the road,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy apartment was literally shaking because of the explosion.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery competition is important, every opportunity to say something about Ukraine. Because it\u2019s sad, because this war is very long, and I think people are losing the attention after so many years.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery opportunity to say about this, I believe it\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/p>\n Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine. Photo by Phil Walter\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n