Lesia Tsurenko says she has no option left but to take a member of the WTA to court concerning what she describes as ‘an act of moral abuse’ against her.
In a statement posted on X, the former world No.23 says she suffered a panic attack and an ‘inability’ to do her job as a tennis player as a consequence of an encounter she had. It is believed that Tsurenko is speaking of an incident between her and WTA chairman Steve Simon which took place two years ago. Simon was CEO of the WTA Tour until last August when he changed roles.
“I spoke about it openly and directly,” Tsurenko wrote on X.
“I tried to seek protection and justice within the WTA. But in response, I faced indifference and injustice, which led to a prolonged moral decline.”
Elaborating further, the 35-year-old claims the Tour has become a “terrifying” and “alien” place for her.
“Pain, fear, panic attacks, humiliation, withholding information, harassment of my team to silence me … and this isn’t even the full list of what I’ve had to endure,” she said.
“The WTA Tour refused to protect a woman, a player, a human being. Instead, the WTA Tour chose to protect a person in a leadership position.
“My last chance to defend myself, to stand up for my rights, my dignity, and to prevent such acts of violence in sports is to seek justice in court.”
In 2023, Tsurenko said she withdrew from the BNP Paribas Open due to a panic attack that was caused by a conversation she had with Simon about the WTA’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and whether Russian players should be suspended from the sport. It is claimed that Simon told Tsurenko that she shouldn’t get upset if any Russian player supported their country’s military action.
“A few days ago, I had a conversation with our WTA CEO, Steve Simon, and I was absolutely shocked by what I heard. He told me that he himself does not support the war, but if the players from Russia and Belarus support it, then this is only their own opinion and the opinion of other people should not upset me,” she told the Big Tennis Ukraine website.
“At the same time, he noted that if this had happened to him and he had been in my place he would have felt terrible.”
Tsurenko’s coach at the time, Mykyta Vlasov, made a written request for a formal investigation into the matter to be conducted. Then in October of that year, the WTA committee concluded that Simon ‘“did not violate the Code of Conduct or any provision in the Employee Handbook.’ Tsurenko tried to appeal the decision but was unsuccessful.
Tennis website Open Court has obtained a statement from the WTA regarding Tsurenko’s claims. The governing body says they are ‘disappointed’ about the legal action but are confident that they will win.
“While the WTA has the greatest sympathy for the significant challenges that Ms. Tsurenko and our other Ukrainian athletes have faced, we are disappointed that she has decided to engage in litigation to seek to hold the WTA responsible for her distress. At all times, the WTA and its management acted appropriately and in accordance with our rules, and we are confident that we will prevail in this litigation.” A spokesperson said.
Tsurenko hasn’t played a competitive match since November. She has won four WTA titles and earned more than $6.8M in prize money during her career.
