{
  "id": 8891687,
  "title": "Ukrainian tennis star Svitolina speaks out on 'neutral' athletes representing Russia and Belarus",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/ukrainian-tennis-star-svitolina-speaks-out-on-neutral-athletes",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-21T09:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Voice of Ukraine",
    "slug": "new-voice-of-ukraine",
    "url": "https://english.nv.ua/nation/elina-svitolina-explains-what-motivates-her-to-play-against-athletes-from-russia-and-belarus-50643128.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Elina Svitolina, a top-ranked Ukrainian tennis player, recently commented on the issue of neutral athletes competing for Russia and Belarus. In an interview with BBC News Ukrainian, Svitolina firmly stated that there are no neutral athletes, as they still represent a particular country. \"For me there are no neutral athletes,\" she declared, \"they compete and represent the aggressor state.\"\n\nSvitolina expressed that changing citizenship without expressing a stance simply serves personal interests. She acknowledged the difficulty of facing those athletes on the court but saw it as powerful motivation to defeat them. Svitolina emphasized that sport cannot exist outside of politics, given that Russia and Belarus have consistently used their athletes as a source of pride throughout the ongoing war, which has been raging for nearly five years.\n\nThe Ukrainian tennis star will represent her nation's team at the Billie Jean King Cup, with the final round scheduled from September 22 to 27 in Shenzhen, China. Ukraine will face Belgium in the quarterfinals. Previously, Svitolina concluded her U.S. Open campaign by losing to Anna Kalinskaya, a player she described as \"neutral.\"",
  "summary": "Elina Svitolina (No. 7 in the Women's Tennis Association rankings) shared her thoughts on neutral athletes in an interview with BBC News Ukrainian on Sept. 20.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}