Ever since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, the lives of Ukrainian citizens have not been the same. Dayana Yastremska, a Ukrainian player on the WTA circuit is no different either. She and her sister were amongst the many who fled the country for safety, in the early days of the war.

In a recent podcast, she recalled how they spent the last few days before moving out of their country. She spoke about the terrible situation in her country and how the constant unrest has been worrying her about her parents and other family members stuck in Ukraine.

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Dayana Yastremska says she is proud of Ukraine’s fighting spirit

Following a bombing incident very near to their hometown, her parents decided to take rapid action in regards to sending their daughters outside Ukraine. 21-year-old Dayana and her 15-year-old sister Ivanna then traveled to France via Romania for safety. The sisters played at the Lyon Open and Indian Wells Masters as the doubles partners. Despite being stressed about the situation concerning her parents,  Dayana ended up as runner-up at the Lyon Open. She lost to Zhang Shuai in three sets in the final.

But, Yastremska could not stop talking about how worried she is about their parents, who are still back in Ukraine.

“I can imagine how my parents and all people in Ukraine, how they’re not even able to make a one, you know, simple easy breath because everything is going so so so crazy. And it’s very dangerous. And I’m proud of Ukraine. I’m proud of our army. I’m proud of our normal people who is fighting for the country,” she said in a recent podcast with Ben Rothenberg.

Yastremska applauds the spirit of the Ukrainian people

In the show, titled “No Challenges Remaining” she also opened up about the very spirit of Ukrainian people and how she was extremely proud of how they are fighting with all their might, until their last resources.

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“They have a really strong spirit and they are really big fighters and if you see a real situation in Ukraine, you would say that our people are very strong and they won’t give what they think it’s theirs you know... I want to see this war end, but if the Russian not gonna finish the war, Ukraine won’t finish, Ukraine won’t stop surviving Ukraine won’t stop fighting and Ukraine won’t stop fight for the free country you know?” she said.

Yastremska has announced that she will donate all her prize money from the Lyon Open to rehabilitation efforts in Ukraine.

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Hoping that this war ends soon and people like Dayana can return to their country, free of fear!