After her sport’s governing bodies agreed to the changes she demanded, Elina Svitolina put on the yellow and blue colors of Ukraine and beat Anastasia Potapova of Russia 6-2, 6-1 on Tuesday in the opening round of the Monterrey Open.
Top-seeded Svitolina earlier said she wouldn’t play against Potapova in Mexico or against any Russian or Belarusian opponents until the WTA, ATP and the International Tennis Federation barred competitors from those countries using any national symbols, flags or anthems.
The tennis governing bodies issued a statement on Tuesday confirming that Russian and Belarusian players will still be allowed to play on the top-tier men’s and women’s tennis tours, but without national flags.
Svitolina had service breaks in the first and third games to take the first set and then added breaks in the third, fifth and seventh games in the second to win the match in 64 minutes.
The 27-year-old Svitolina, who won this tournament in 2020, will play against Viktoriya Tomova in the second round.
The Russian military assault on Ukraine was into its sixth day.
“I do not blame any of the Russian athletes,” Svitolina wrote. “They are not responsible for the invasion of our motherland.”
Svitolina is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist with 16 career tour-level singles titles who has been ranked as high as No. 3 and is currently No. 15.