Australian tennis player Daria Saville says she can no longer return to Russia, the country of her birth, after protesting the military intervention in Ukraine.
Saville wore yellow and blue, the colours of Ukraine, at the Paris Open in March and urged Vladimir Putin to stop the war and the Russian army to return home in a post on social media.
“Already I can’t really go back to Russia,” she told Australian media at the French Open. “I definitely do support the Ukrainian players... imagine not having a home.”
Saville, whose parents live in Moscow, represented Russia in tennis until emigrating to Australia seven years ago. She competed under her maiden name Gavrilova until marrying Australian tennis player Luke Saville last year.
She expressed mixed feelings about Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
“(It’s a) grey area because I have way too many friends in Russia,” said the 28-year-old.
“[Daria) Kasatkina is one of my best friends. I want her to play, but they also understand the decision, too. I still treat everyone the same. I don’t change how I treat people and... nothing has changed for me. There is worse things happening (than) not playing at Wimbledon.”