Oliynykova Demands Sanctions for Shnaider After French Open Loss — Shnaider Tennis
Oleksandra Oliynykova turned her French Open loss into a sanctions demand, saying Diana Shnaider should face punishment after shnaider tennis ended with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat. The Ukrainian player tied her complaint to Shnaider’s appearance at a Gazprom-funded exhibition in Russia and to screenshots she said showed pro-Vladimir Putin activity on Instagram.
“She doesn’t want to comment on the war, because if she says her opinion, it would be a very big scandal, but I showed you the proof,” Oliynykova said after the match. She also said, “I want to stop the tour being so hypocritical by pretending they cannot do anything, because they have the mechanism.”
Shnaider and the Gazprom event
Oliynykova said she showed journalists images of Shnaider playing at the Northern Palmyra Trophies exhibition in St Petersburg last year, an event sponsored by Gazprom, the Russian state-owned oil company. She also produced screenshots of Shnaider appearing to like pro-Vladimir Putin posts on Instagram, and said players can be sanctioned for taking part in a tournament organized by a betting company.
Her complaint was not limited to the match itself. Oliynykova said the Gazprom tournament was financing war crimes and camps for kids, and she framed the issue as one the sport already has tools to address. “You can be sanctioned if you are participating in a tournament organised by a betting company, but if they have this mechanism, why will they not use this to the tournament organised by a war crimes sponsor?” she said.
Shnaider’s response in Paris
Shnaider said she had no idea about Oliynykova’s outburst and had not seen her comments or press conferences. She said the exhibition tournament gave her a rare chance to be close to home. “Speaking of the exhibition tournament, I’m travelling all year round. I’m not seeing my family or my friends, and I have the only one opportunity to play in front of my family, in front of my friends, just to spend a little more time at home,” she said.
She added, “I see it as an opportunity just to show some good tennis for my family. I mean, it’s the only opportunity, so I’ve got to use it.” On the social media claims, she said, “About social media, I have no idea what she found. I have no idea, so I don’t have any comments on that.”
Oliynykova’s pressure on tennis bodies
Oliynykova, who lives and trains in Kyiv, said she has become one of the most outspoken players on Russia’s war in Ukraine since breaking into the top 100 at the end of last year. She said her father, Denis Oliynyk, and her boyfriend are volunteers for the Ukrainian army, and she opened her press conference with a warning about what silence would mean for her.
“If I am going to be silent, I don’t understand what I’m doing here, and how could I if I will not try to do everything to help Ukraine to win this war, my life would be destroyed,” she said. She followed that with, “The people I love, they would be killed. I will be killed. I don’t see any other option for me.” The French Open result gave her the platform; the demands now put pressure on the sport’s disciplinary line where politics, sponsorship and player conduct meet.
