Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko has announced her intention to take legal action against the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), alleging she was subjected to “moral abuse” by a senior official.
The 35-year-old revealed she has endured panic attacks as a result of what she describes as the tour’s decision to “protect” the unnamed official after a “conscious” attack on her.
In a heartfelt statement, Tsurenko expressed her frustration with the WTA, claiming she faced “indifference and injustice” when seeking support.
“Pain, fear, panic attacks, humiliation, withholding information, harassment of my team to silence me… and this isn’t even the full list of what I’ve had to endure,” she wrote.
“My last chance to defend myself, to stand up for my rights, my dignity, and to prevent such acts of violence in sports is to seek justice in court.”
Tsurenko has been vocal about the challenges of competing amidst the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which nearly prompted her to quit tennis.
Ranked 239th in the world, she withdrew from a match in 2023 after a panic attack following a conversation with WTA leadership regarding its response to the war. She now describes the organization as a “terrifying and alien place.”
“The WTA tour refused to protect a woman, a player, a human being. Instead, the WTA tour chose to protect a person in a leadership position,” she stated, while expressing hope for accountability: “I pray to God that no one will ever experience what I’m going through and that everyone is held accountable for their actions.”
