Lesia Tsurenko was granted permission to break Wimbledon’s strict dress code to support a cause that’s close to her heart.
The Ukrainian tennis player wore a blue and yellow ribbon on her shirt Wednesday during her second-round win over compatriot Anhelina Kalinina, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. She also wore the ribbon Friday during her third-round loss to Germany’s Jule Niemeier.
Tsurenko’s statement piece was a far cry from Wimbledon’s rigid, all-white dress code, which has made participants remove unsatisfactory articles of clothing, such as hats and bras, in the past. However, the 33-year-old athlete discussed wearing the ribbon with officials before the match and was ultimately given the go-ahead.
Tsurenko said after the match that she wore the ribbon to shed light on the “horrible things that are going on in Ukraine” in the wake of Russia’s invasion, the recent missile strike on a shopping center in Kremenchuk, specifically.
Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine wore a blue and yellow ribbon at Wimbledon in support of her country.Getty Images“It’s very painful for me to see that Russian propaganda is just saying that, for example, that shopping mall in Kremenchuk was not working,” she said of the incident, which left at least 18 dead.
“That’s a lie, because my fitness coach, he’s from that city. His mother-in-law … she’s working in this shopping center, and she was lucky that she had a day off.”
Tsurenko said she’s felt powerless amidst the conflict in her war-torn country, but is looking to help as much as she can. The 101st-ranked player is donating ten percent of her prize money to Ukraine’s war efforts.
Members of the public wave Ukraine’s national flag during the women’s singles tennis match between Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko and Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina on June 29, 2022.AFP via Getty Images
Iga Swiatek of Poland wore a blue and yellow ribbon on her cap at Wimbledon on June 30, 2022. Getty ImagesTsurenko’s ribbon was not the only blue and yellow visible at Wimbledon. On Thursday, the world number one, Iga Swiatek, wore a Ukraine ribbon on the side of her hat.
Both Tsurenko and Kalinina have also commented on the “amazing support” they have felt from the plethora of fans that brought Ukrainian flags into the stands.
