The organizers of the US Open-2022 have planned a charity event for August 24 to raise funds to help Ukraine with the participation of top players. However, the invitation to take part in the exhibition match was also received by Russian and Belarusian players.

This is what outraged the Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk. In btu's comment. org. ua she said that she refused to participate in the event because of the representatives of the aggressor countries.

" I think all our players got it. When Lesya Tsurenko and I found out - I’m only talking about us now, because we didn’t ask anyone - that representatives of Russia or Belarus would be at the event, I immediately said that I would not participate in this.

Firstly, no one asked the Ukrainian athletes if they had such a desire for any of these players to be present.. This, of course, is of no interest to anyone.. It's Independence Day of Ukraine, but what Ukrainians think is not interesting, yes?

Secondly, the reason that they called Victoria Azarenka is not clear.. From her there was no open help in our direction.. She did not communicate with me, but I know that she communicated with Sergei Stakhovsky, with Gael Monfils in Madrid. There was no dialogue with me personally, although it cannot be said that I was invisible. Maybe I'm not as visible because I don't have a high enough rating to talk to me.. But I'm not talking about this, but about the fact that from the very beginning of the war I was quite active. I was one of those who commented on the war more often, who also openly supported the ban of players, and that this is generally unacceptable - what is happening. And although I was one of the most active in my statements, she had no contact with me.. There was no desire to talk either..

So I don't understand why she was called, I can't understand why she even goes for it. Knowing what kind of relationship she has with all of us. There was no such thing that she met with all of us and said: " It wasn't even close. She has no personal relationship with us..

I don't really understand how human this is.. Why does she do it and why does she go for it. Purely humanly, because she knows from our words how we cannot tolerate them here, how we want them not to be at any tournament, as in England. Regardless, she goes for it.. She doesn’t even communicate with us, but here she just takes and does. I can't understand why? Why can’t Turam say: “Listen, the Ukrainians are really against it, let me not annoy them even more, I won’t provoke them”. Why can't you say that? I'm speaking emotionally, of course.. But we are sitting, talking about it and just do not understand what is happening,"

As for Azarenka, she was recently denied a visa by Canada.. She couldn't get to the tournament in Toronto. Earlier, the Belarusian spoke out against Wimbledon banning tennis players from aggressor countries from participating in competitions..

We add that the US Open nevertheless decided to allow athletes from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus to the tournament, although it was previously noted that they could follow the path of Wimbledon.

The US Open will take place from August 29 to September 11, 2022.

At the US Open, four Ukrainians will also play in the main draw: Angelina Kalinina, Marta Kostyuk, Dayana Yastremska and Lesya Tsurenko. Daria Snigur, Ekaterina Beindl and Ekaterina Zavatskaya will play in the qualification of this last season of the Grand Slam tournament.