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Elina Svitolina’s match against Russia’s Anastasia Potapova at the Monterrey Open on Tuesday will go ahead after the Ukrainian top seed was given assurances her opponent will compete under a neutral flag.
The WTA has not made an announcement.
However, Svitolina, 27, told ITV News: “There’s been a lot of discussion.”
The world number 15 added: “Today they will release a statement that they will remove the flags. So we are waiting just for the final confirmation about that. I will be playing tonight because my opponent is going to be under a neutral flag.”
Svitolina will wear Ukrainian colours for the match in Mexico, and she said she feels like “I have my country on my shoulders”.
She added: “In the tennis community, more should have been done. Today is already six days that serious and horrible things are happening in Ukraine.
“That’s why I decided to make a move because I didn’t feel enough support from our tennis community. As Ukrainians, we couldn’t sit silent anymore in feeling so much pain.
“For sure it’s not going to be [just] another WTA match.”
Potapova, 20, also responded to the situation on Instagram on Monday, saying: “Unfortunately, now we, professional athletes, are becoming hostages of the current situation.
“I’m sorry, but even though I am a stranger to politics, I am against grief, tears and war.”
