2024-03-02 13:20:04
She had a great start to the tennis season. Ukrainian tennis player Dajan Jastremská made it to the semi-finals of the Australian Open. But then she went home to Odessa for a week to see her family, and the ongoing war rages dampened her euphoria.
Even two years after the start of Russian aggression in Ukraine, nothing has changed. The best tennis players from the war zone prefer to choose safe training retreats around the world rather than return home. They only stop there when they want to spend some time with their family.
And that was exactly the case with Jastremská, the sensational semi-finalist of the opening Grand Slam of the season. From the qualification, she flew into the top four players of the Australian Open.
And so the native of Odessa wanted to enjoy her success with her closest friends. “After returning from Melbourne, I still played two matches in Linz and then I went home for a week to rest. But let’s face it, it wasn’t much relaxation,” she described this week at the tournament in San Diego.
She described to journalists how every Ukrainian must basically be constantly ready to jump out of bed at any moment and run for cover the moment an air raid alarm sounds.
“Usually around twelve, one or two o’clock the massive attacks start regularly, so you don’t get much sleep,” she explained why she didn’t rest during the free tennis week.
But sometimes you can prepare for a busy night in advance, because the Ukrainian army suspects that the Russian side is up to something.
“Practically, you always have to monitor the activity of the drones. When the alarm goes off, we run into the underground parking lot, where there is a cover. This happened to me three times during my one-week stay,” she said.
After two years, however, he is more resistant to the stress of war and still manages to enjoy his stay with his family. “I’m glad I went, it was very nice to spend some time with them again,” she added.
She also used her free time to publish a music recording, for which she teamed up with Czech singer Rodan and Latvian singer Zhosan. Together they sang the song Hearts, which describes the war through the eyes of children.
“It’s another reminder to all people about my country, about the children and that we need support. I know people forget about war and are tired of it, but we have to be brave and stick together. This song is about strength and maturity.” she described.