ROLAND GARROS

May 28, 2026

Oleksandra Oliynykova

Press Conference

O. OLIYNYKOVA/K. Birrell

6-3, 0-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Oleksandra, a tough battle out there in your singles. How did you get through that third set? Talk about your thoughts on the match, please.

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: Yeah, it was really hard match. She played amazing tennis.

Yeah, I'm happy. I'm happy how I finish the match. It was just, you know, I was scared to win, scared to lose, scared of everything.

But so proud of the performance from both of us. Yeah, I think this was really great match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. You decided your match with the underarm serve. How did you come up with that?

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: This is just a part of my game. I mean, it's nothing. For me, it's nothing special.

Q. Is it?

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: No.

Q. Do you do it often, or...

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: Sometimes. But I'm practicing it. I'm practicing underarm with a basket.

Q. How do you do that, practicing?

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: I'm practicing the serve, so I put the basket near me, serving. Serving to each corner, and then I'm serving underarm with a basket.

Q. Do you see it as a tactical weapon, or shot, or how do you explain it?

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: It depends. I think it's different for different players. With my game style, it's nothing. As I told you, it's nothing special. It's just a part.

Q. Did you get any reactions after today?

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: No, I think it's, I mean, I don't know. Why should I get any reactions?

Q. Over the course of this early part of the season, you've obviously really improved. I remember at AO you kind of put yourself on the map against Madison Keys. Now you're in a third round here at a Grand Slam. Can you share how you think you have evolved as a player over the past few months on tour?

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: Last few months on tour was very hard for me, because maybe you remember my message in Australian Open, then it was very successful Kreznapava (phonetic) for me. Then I was under pressure from WTA. They put a lot of pressure on me.

Yeah, it was very hard. I have feeling like it kind of slow down my improving, but now I'm on career high again, because I decided that I will keep speaking up. And I play for -- I play for my people, and I want to use opportunity to speak about the values I believe and to speak about my country.

Q. Well done today. You're playing Diana Shnaider next, I believe.

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: Yes.

Q. She's one of the players I think you have criticized. What do you anticipate going into the match? Will that at all affect you in some ways?

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: On court, it doesn't affect me, because what we are doing, it's the sport performance. So one day, one player wins. Another day, another player wins. So it's, like, nothing. It's nothing special.

What it is serious here, it's the fact that that match is gonna happen, because Diana Shnaider is a person who didn't participated in Gazprom tournament. If you want to see, this is a picture, and I can show you.

This is her on the picture on the Gazprom tournament. The Gazprom tournament is a company which is financing the war crimes, and playing in the tournament which is financing the camps for kids. I think it's the same as playing in Nazi Germany for Gestapo officers, on the tournament organized by company which built Auschwitz. There is no difference for me.

And the thing is that everybody are silent about what this person did. It's crazy. She also put likes on the publications of Russian propagandists. So here are some screen shots. Maybe if I can make it bigger or I can send it to you later if you want to see this.

So, yeah. And I'm someone who is suffering just by being at home. My home is being attacked by Gazprom money. They are paying for this, for the drones which are attacking my city. Tomorrow people will make show from this.

So is it really important who will hit harder forehand tomorrow? Or the fact that we are ignoring things like this here?

Q. Does it affect you psychologically --

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: Not on court, no.

Q. -- going into the match, preparing for the match? It's a lot to carry onto the court.

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: You know, no, on court it doesn't affect me. Outside of the court, these are the things I'm thinking about. But, you know, compare this pressure on court to something you feel when the drone explodes just across the road. Of course when I'm playing, for me, it's not a problem to focus only on my game. But these things are ignored. It's absurd.

Q. I think we all here wrote many stories about you now, and from my side, what I can say is there was much interest from readers' side. Did you get any reactions about all the words you said a couple days ago, just from inside the tour? How do you feel you get treated now, not only by Russians or Belarusians, but just in general? Do you feel a little bit like an outsider, or do you get much respect? How do the people treat you?

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: People respect me. I'm not an outsider. I mean, I'm sharing the truth. I'm sharing the facts. This is my life and this is my story, and this is the life of so many Ukrainians.

The things speaking about another tennis player, these are things we should not ignore. This is participation, as I told in something organized with only one intention: Propaganda and normalization of the war. And these people, they volunteer to go to play there. You know, these people, they choose it.

Why should I be silent about this? And how, for someone, which reason, somebody will treat me bad for these things? Only someone who liking this publication and wants my country to be destroyed. But, I mean, I don't care about their opinions, because what I care, I just want to stay alive, and I want to bring the attention to Ukraine and to things these people are doing so we can finish this war faster in the fair way, you know. Why I should get any bad reaction because of this?

Q. I just want to ask, obviously I think Diana Shnaider was already in here a few hours ago for her press conference, but in general, these Russian and Belarusian players come in here as well and face media. What kind of questions do you think they should face?

OLEKSANDRA OLIYNYKOVA: They should face the questions, the questions that will not let them manipulate, you know. Because saying, you know, We're against the war, we just want everything to finish fast, but in which way?

The only one way to finish this war fair: It's the Ukrainian victory. These people, when they saying it, they just want my country to be destroyed. And then, you know, they will not fight. They don't have intention to find some fair peace, you know. Their way to finishing the war is occupying my country. It's not the peace. Because they are saying in this way, and the questions, Who do you want to win this war? The question is: Are these people participated?

I don't know. Ask Diana Shnaider how she feels about the fact that Gazprom is financing the kids' camps, kidnapping kids and putting them into the camps. Ask her how she feel about this, and how she feels about taking the money from the company like this. Yeah, I think it's a good question.

Actually, I have something to share. So here I have the patch which is very important for me. This is the present from the people who are fighting with my father. They are coming from Belarus. This is the flag of the democratic Belarus. This is something what people was using by peaceful protest in 2020, and these people are fighting now. They are giving their lives. But this is something what is not commercial. This is just a patch, just a souvenir. It's not promoting anything.

But I was forced to remove it from my matches with explanation that is not the manufacturer of my bag. And the thing is that the rule exist does exist. When I questioned why can I bring, like, key ring or Labubu or something like this, they told me you can't, but this is the rule.

But the thing is that we see so many girls bringing some toys and everything on tour, so what I wanted to question, that the rules are important when it has a meaning. If it's meaningless, then nobody cares.

So yeah, this is something what I wanted to bring attention to, and yeah, I still wearing it, I'm bringing this on my matches here. But, yeah, this is again, when I started that I'm playing for my values, and I just want to question, where is the values and why we can ignore when there is no enemy. Something very important to share for me.