A UKRAINIAN tennis star’s family home has been obliterated in a ruthless Russian missile and drone onslaught against Odesa.
Former world No 21 Dayana Yastremska, who competed in the ongoing US Open, shared pictures of a burning tower block in a strongly-worded post.
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She wrote: “A piece of world tennis survived a Russian missile. Our home did not,” referring to a Roland Garros clay orange towel hanging from the wreckage.
Two people were killed and three dozen more wounded when the barrage hit the Black Sea port city and nearby Chornomorsk on Friday night.
Dayana, 26, has long been a strong critic of the war and has warned the world of Vladimir Putin‘s evil.
She wrote: “This is what the ‘Russian world’ looks like – a direct hit by a Kalibr cruise missile.”
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Her family’s flat was on the now non-existent 22nd floor.
Dayana has urged the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to see the world through Ukrainian eyes.
The managing bodies still allow Russian athletes to compete in international tournaments under neutral flags.
“Look at these images through our eyes. This is the true meaning of your ‘neutrality’ – from the Ukrainian side of the court,” said Dayana.
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Her grandmother’s home was previously damaged during an attack on New Year’s Eve 2024.
Dayana, an Australian Open semi-finalist with more than $6million (£4.4m) in career prize money, refuses to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents.
She said in 2023: “It doesn’t matter which tournament—we’re not going to shake hands.”
The star has described Russia as a “terrorist country” and said facing Russian and Belarusian players was emotionally difficult.
At the US Open last week, fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina refused to shake hands with Anna Kalinskaya, the world No 23 from Russia.
Her padel club in Kyiv was hit by a Russian air strike last week.
It is not the first time a Ukrainian athlete’s home has been hit since Putin launched his illegal 2022 invasion.
Last year, Benfica midfielder Georgiy Sudakov’s flat in Kyiv was severely damaged by a drone while his wife and three-year-old child were at home.
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Sudakov, 23, shared a terrifying video of the bombing in the Ukrainian capital showing a shattered building with rubble lying everywhere.
The ace, who has won 36 caps for Ukraine, made the £20million move from Shakhtar Donetsk to the Portuguese capital this summer.