Four months after 97-year-old amateur Leonid Stanislavskyi’s dreams came true when he played tennis with Rafael Nadal, the Ukrainian is enduring his worst nightmare in Kharkiv as Russian forces bomb the city.

Stanislavskyi, who features in the Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest tennis player, also had dreams of playing Swiss great Roger Federer but now he has only one simple wish — to survive.

“I hope I live to reach 100. I have to survive this frightening situation,” he said.

“The war started on (February) 24th. From the 24th till now I have practically not gone out. I’ve stayed at home... I have supplies, the fridge is full. I’m sitting at home, not going anywhere,” he said.

The nonagenarian played the then 20-time grand slam champion last October at Nadal’s training centre in Spain. The 35-year-old Nadal has since won his 21st grand slam title, in Melbourne.

Stanislavskyi, who survived the Second World War when he was an engineer who helped build Soviet warplanes to fight the Nazis, said: “My daughter Tanya is in Poland, she wants to take me there. But I decided to stay here. I have bad hearing so I sleep at night and don’t hear anything. Last night there were bombings, in the morning there were air-raid sirens again.”

“I never thought that I would have to live through another, more frightening war where people from both sides are dying — mothers are losing their children, wives are losing their sons and their husbands,” he added.

“What is this? What good is it? In the 21st century there can’t be war. The war needs to be stopped, an agreement has to be reached.”

For Stanislavskyi, an end to the conflict would also mean the chance to resume playing tennis — and possibly to appear at the next seniors World Championships, in Florida next month. He was 30 when he was introduced to the sport and used to train three times a week.

“Tennis is my life, my destiny. I’ve played at a serious level since I was 90, I’ve played in World Championships, I’ve played in the European Championships.”

“I’m not afraid of anyone... I’m hoping that the war will end and I will be able to play tennis. If I could get (to Poland) I would play there,” he said.