By Shrivathsa Sridhar
BANGALORE, June 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk said taking a strong stance against Russia's invasion of her country had sharpened her sense of purpose on the tour, with the online backlash she receives deepening her resolve to keep speaking out.
Kostyuk has been one of the most outspoken players on the war that began in 2022, repeatedly urging stronger recognition of the conflict while rejecting the idea of neutrality, saying players must stand by their values even while competing.
The 23-year-old brought the same intensity to her media appearances as her tennis in a spectacular run to the French Open semi-finals this month, speaking with directness on a sensitive topic that has resonated beyond the sport.
"Well, I think at this point it has strengthened my sense of purpose, because what I find fascinating is how many bots always attack my social media," Kostyuk told Reuters following a break ahead of Wimbledon.
"There's nothing better than this because it means I touch important topics people don't want to hear."
"Before, it used to be frustrating and difficult for me to endure even though I knew that the majority of it was bots, not real people. But now I'm really fuelling up with it, because I know these are the things I have to talk about," she added.
TALKING ABOUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT
"I hope the war isn't going to last my whole career and ... I'm going to raise other issues.
"At this moment in my life, war is one of the most important things that happens to me every day so I have to talk about it."
Players from Russia and its ally Belarus have been allowed to compete as neutrals on the tour since the invasion, without national flags or official country representation.
"We're talking about players who play without a flag, but they still represent their countries, everyone knows they're Russians and Belarusians," Kostyuk added.
"I'm never saying these players, with what they're going to say are going to stop the war, or they started the war with what they were saying. But the point is, what do you stand for in your life and what are your human values?"
ENCOURAGING PROGRESS
Away from the spotlight on her off-court stance, world number 13 Kostyuk said she was encouraged by the progress she had made during her Roland Garros run, which followed a solid claycourt swing with triumphs in Rouen and Madrid.
Kostyuk heads to Wimbledon with tempered expectations after an off-court ankle injury forced her to skip grasscourt tune-ups ahead of the Grand Slam that begins on Monday.
"The biggest thing I've improved is my mental part, but not in the sense that I've become a different person. I feel like I just got more control over my thoughts, my state," she added.
"I don't spend too much extra energy on things I cannot control. This helps me to stay longer in these tournaments. I don't get burnt out and don't get tired a lot. This helps me obviously to keep the level higher.
"There are players who have made the semi-finals of Grand Slams but never made it further, or never reached another semi-final of a Grand Slam. So it's really difficult to talk about how I think I'm going to play.
"I wish I would feel like, 'oh yes, Wimbledon or the U.S. Open is mine' or whatever, but I don't think you feel this way ever. You go into every tournament playing match by match and see how it goes."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams)
