{"id":704414,"date":"2026-05-30T20:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T20:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/704414\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T20:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T20:01:09","slug":"tearful-oliynykova-demands-shnaider-face-sanctions-for-supporting-war-french-open-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/704414\/","title":{"rendered":"Tearful Oliynykova demands Shnaider face sanctions for \u2018supporting war\u2019 | French Open 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oleksandra Oliynykova has called for Diana Shnaider to face sanctions for her participation in a Gazprom-funded exhibition in Russia<\/a> and the Ukrainian criticised the sport\u2019s \u201chypocritical\u201d governing bodies after her 7-5, 6-1 defeat by her Russian opponent.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe doesn\u2019t want to comment on the war, because if she says her opinion, it would be a very big scandal, but I showed you the proof,\u201d Oliynykova said. \u201cI want to stop the tour being so hypocritical by pretending they cannot do anything, because they have the mechanism.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can be sanctioned if you are participating in a tournament organised by a betting company, but if they have this mechanism, why will they not use this to the tournament organised by a war crimes sponsor?\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliynykova\u2019s comments came after she had showed journalists images of Shnaider playing at the Northern Palmyra Trophies, an exhibition in St Petersburg last year. The event was sponsored by Gazprom, the Russian state-owned oil company. She also produced screenshots of Shnaider appearing to \u201clike\u201d pro-Vladimir Putin posts on Instagram. The Russian president is the key figure in the invasion of her native Ukraine<\/a> which is now in its fifth year of conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Gazprom tournament is a company which is financing the war crimes, and playing in the tournament which is financing the camps for kids,\u201d claimed Oliynykova. \u201cI think it\u2019s the same as playing in Nazi Germany for Gestapo officers, or the tournament organised by the company which built Auschwitz. There is no difference for me. And the thing is that everybody is silent about what this person did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shnaider had \u201cno idea\u201d about Oliynykova\u2019s outburst. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen any of her comments or press conferences,\u201d she said. \u201cSpeaking of the exhibition tournament, I\u2019m travelling all year round. I\u2019m not seeing my family or my friends, and I have the only one opportunity to play in front of my family, in front of my friends, just to spend a little more time at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see it as an opportunity just to show some good tennis for my family. I mean, it\u2019s the only opportunity, so I\u2019ve got to use it. About social media, I have no idea what she found. I have no idea, so I don\u2019t have any comments on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliynykova said she was contributing to the glorification of Russia: \u201cShe has these fanatic ideas, what she\u2019s liking, the propagandists she reads, what I proved last time. The tournaments where she is participating, she knows what they are doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just have this glorification in Russia that they are above all the world, that they have this strong leader and everything. I mean, this is what their propaganda is saying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oleksandra Oliynykova and Diana Shnaider during their third round match at the French Open. Photograph: Action Press\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Oliynykova has emerged as the most outspoken player on Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine since breaking in to the top 100 at the end of last year. Her father, Denis Oliynyk, who had once travelled with her on the lower rungs of the tour and accompanied her here in Paris, is a volunteer for the Ukrainian army, as is her boyfriend.<\/p>\n

While most top Ukrainian players are based elsewhere, Oliynykova still lives and trains in Kyiv. \u201cIf I am going to be silent, I don\u2019t understand what I\u2019m doing here, and how could I if I will not try to do everything to help Ukraine to win this war, my life would be destroyed,\u201d she said. \u201cThe people I love, they would be killed. I will be killed. I don\u2019t see any other option for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliynykova opened her press conference by reading out a speech explaining her decision to speak out so strongly: \u201cI know that some people disagree with my actions,\u201d she said. \u201cI know that some people would prefer that I stay silent. But what I do is not about politics, it\u2019s about humanity. When people are being killed, while children are dying, when violence is justified or celebrated, we cannot pretend that nothing is happening. We cannot look away. We cannot protect those who support or excuse such actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur organisation was not built by pioneers like Billie Jean King so that money and luxury could become the only values in women\u2019s tennis. They wanted something bigger than that. They wanted us to have a voice, to inspire others to make the world better, to be role models for young athletes. Being a role model is not about the size of your bank account. It\u2019s not about expensive watches, private jets, or luxury brands. A real role model has the courage to stand against evil.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naomi Osaka broke new ground by reaching the fourth round of the French Open for the first time, edging out the 17th seed, Iva Jovic, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4. The 16th seed will next face the world No 1, Aryna Sabalenka, in a clash between of two four-time grand slam champions. Sabalenka reached round four with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Daria Kasatkina<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oleksandra Oliynykova has called for Diana Shnaider to face sanctions for her participation in a Gazprom-funded exhibition in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-704414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}