Tennis' umbrella organizations unite to support Ukraine amid war

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Principal associations in tennis and the four Grand Slams each donated $100,000 Tuesday to a humanitarian aid campaign for people in Ukraine.

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA), Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the Australian Open, French Open (Roland Garros), Wimbledon and the US Open announced the initiative for the ongoing war in Ukraine.

"Today each of the seven entities has donated $100,000 USD to the humanitarian relief efforts, with donations supporting Global Giving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund which will provide immediate help on the ground across the region, as well as the Ukraine Tennis Federation," said ITF.

The initiative is called Tennis Plays For Peace and Ukrainian players Elina Svitolina and Sergiy Stakhovsky were featured on a video with their voices.

Donations can be made at the "tennisplaysforpeace.com" webpage.

Separately, ITF said WTA and ATP players will wear "ribbons in the colors of Ukraine" to show solidarity at the BNP Paribas Open tournament in Indian Wells, California.

The tournament will be held March 10 - 20.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial sanctions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 474 civilians have been killed and 861 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, while saying that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.

Some 2 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency.