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Dayana Yastremska revealed in an Instagram post on Saturday that a Russian missile had directly struck the Odesa apartment building where her family lived the night before, reducing their home to rubble. The world No 113 player, a former world No 21 who reached the Australian Open semifinals in 2024, shared videos and photographs of the destruction that included firefighters searching the debris and a stuffed toy holding a tennis racket. “This is what the ‘Russian world’ looks like. A direct hit by a Kalibr cruise missile,” Yastremska wrote. “A Russian missile destroyed our apartment in Odesa. The only thing that survived was a Roland Garros towel. Symbolic. A piece of world tennis survived a Russian missile. Our home did not.”
Yastremska specifically addressed the Women’s Tennis Association and International Tennis Federation in her post, urging them to view the images from the Ukrainian perspective. The 26-year-old, who lost in the first round of the recent US Open, described the survival of the tournament towel as symbolic of broader issues in the sport amid the ongoing conflict. A similar incident occurred in January 2024 when Yastremska reported that a rocket had struck the Odesa building where her grandmother lived, according to reports compiled by The Athletic.
Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper stated that the overnight attacks injured 37 people, including an infant, and left two individuals missing, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on the wider Russian strikes across multiple regions that killed at least six people. The strike formed part of a series of Russian attacks on Saturday that also targeted areas in Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and the Zhytomyr region, according to Ukrainian officials cited across international wire services including DPA. Yastremska’s family apartment was located on an upper floor of a residential high-rise that sustained extensive damage from the cruise missile impact.
Ukrainian players have repeatedly highlighted personal impacts from the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with several sharing similar experiences during tournaments. Marta Kostyuk told reporters at the 2026 French Open that a missile had destroyed a building 100 meters from her parents’ home in Kyiv on the morning of her first-round match, an account that left her emotional during post-match interviews. Oleksandra Oliynykova has publicly displayed images of destroyed tennis courts in Kyiv where she trained as a child and called on Russian players to speak out against the conflict, according to coverage in NRC and Front Office Sports.
Elina Svitolina’s SVITO Padel Club in Kyiv sustained blast damage during a Russian attack earlier this month on September 8, as reported by the Ukrainian Tennis Federation and Tennis Up To Date. The incidents underscore the challenges faced by Ukrainian athletes who continue to compete internationally while their homeland endures regular strikes. Yastremska most recently competed on the North American hardcourt swing before returning her focus to the situation at home.
The WTA and ITF have maintained a policy since the 2022 invasion that permits Russian and Belarusian players to participate in international events under neutral status while suspending the Russian and Belarusian tennis federations from team competitions. Yastremska’s post directly challenged this approach, arguing it failed to reflect realities on the Ukrainian side. The WTA previously issued statements condemning Russia’s actions and affirming support for Ukrainian players, according to records cited in multiple outlets covering the latest incident.
