February 27, (THEWILL) – After his semi final triumph over Hubert Hurkacz on Friday at the 2022 Dubai Tennis Championships, Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev scrawled “no war please” on a television camera, as his message to his home country.
It is a tennis tradition that after a win, players frequently autograph or scribble a little note on the camera.
Rublev, the second-ranked Russian on the ATP Tour at number seven, was not asked about the message during his post-match interview.
But, his clear and unambiguous anti-war stance comes after Russia launched a military strike against Ukraine on Thursday and moved closer to Kyiv, the country’s capital, on Friday.
It is coincidental that Rublev won the doubles tournament at the Open 13 event in Marseille, France, last week alongside Ukrainian Denys Molchanov.
On Thursday, Daniil Medvedev, a Russian who is likely to become the world’s new number one tennis player, expressed his displeasure with the invasion.
“By being a tennis player, I want to promote peace all over the world,” Medvedev said at the Mexican Open. “We play in so many different countries. I’ve been in so many different countries as a junior and as a pro. It’s just not easy to hear all this news. I’m all for peace.”
The tennis players joined a growing list of athletes from both Russia and Ukraine who’ve called for an end to the military offensive ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rublev will face either Canada’s Denis Shapovalov or the Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely in Saturday’s championship match in Dubai.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
