The Russia-Ukraine war affected a number of families, including those of prominent names in the tennis community. Even the Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk recently opened up about how her sister had to make a big sacrifice amid tensions in their country. The 21-year-old player revealed that her sister had previously moved to a different country when the war started in 2022.

Kostyuk is back on the court at the Stuttgart Open, where she was recently asked about her connection to Germany. In a press conference, the Ukrainian player revealed that she is aware of the weather conditions in Hamburg as her sister previously moved to the country when the Russia-Ukraine war started. She said, “My sister, she moved to Hamburg when the war started. She fleed — Julia. She moved to Hamburg, so I’m aware of the weather in Hamburg, and it’s clearly not good. It’s raining all the time (smiling).”

Speaking about her connection to Germany, Kostyuk went on to talk about how the country has a ‘very good setup for juniors’ as she has played a number of tournaments during her younger days. She added, “Yeah, I mean, I played a lot of tournaments here when I was a junior, because Germany has a very good setup for juniors. You know, a lot of good bases, good tournaments, good organization always. I used to spend a lot of time here.”

This is not the first time that Kostyuk has shed light on the tensions in her country. Even during her campaign at this season’s Australian Open, the WTA player opened up about how the sport has ‘forgotten’ the war in Ukraine.

“I still don’t understand what all these players are doing”- Marta Kostyuk on how others have ‘forgotten’ the traumatic period in her country

During the Australian Open, the 21-year-old player came forward to speak candidly about the situation in her country as she also slammed others for ‘forgetting’ the war. In a press conference, she said, “I still don’t understand what all these players are doing here. Nothing really changed in my world. I feel like in general it’s a lot of processes happening to come to this point where people forget about it because, yeah, people get used to it.”

After saying that people are ‘used to it,’ Kostyuk added, “I understand that everyone has their own issues, and everyone is focused on their thing. I think I’m here to remind everyone all the time that it’s still on, and it should be stopped.” What do you think of the Ukrainian tennis star shedding light on the tensions in her country? Let us know in the comments section.