Ukrainian tennis star Dayana Yastremska on Saturday shared horrific images on social media, saying her family home was destroyed by a Kalibr missile strike during the Russian attack on Odesa on September 12. The world No. 113 shared images showing extensive damage to the residential building and said the only thing that survived was a Roland Garros towel from 2025.
She posted images and videos on her social media account showing her family apartment in Odesa, which was hit by a Russian missile.
“Tonight. This is what the ‘Russian world’ looks like. A direct hit by a Kalibr cruise missile. A Russian missile destroyed our apartment in Odesa,” she wrote, alongside a photo of a burning multi-storey residential building.
“The only thing that survived was a Roland Garros towel,” the 26-year-old added, sharing an image of the famous orange clay-court towel from the Paris Grand Slam hanging from the wreckage.
She called the image “symbolic” and called on the governing bodies of world tennis — the Women’s Tennis Association and International Tennis Federation — to take note.
“A piece of world tennis survived a Russian missile. Our home did not. @wta @itf_reviews Look at these images through our eyes. This is the true meaning of your ‘neutrality’ — from the Ukrainian side of the court,” Yastremska added.
The WTA and ATP continue to list Russian and Belarusian players without their national flags following the governing bodies’ response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukrainian players have also avoided handshakes with Russian and Belarusian opponents on the tour.
Odesa regional head Oleh Kiper said 37 people were injured and two were missing in the missile and drone attack on Odesa.
This is not the first time Yastremska, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals in 2024, and her family have been affected by Russian attacks. On New Year’s Eve that year, she said a building where her grandmother lived had been damaged.
Last year, another Ukrainian athlete, footballer Heorhiy Sudakov, said his flat in Kyiv had been damaged by a Russian drone while his wife and child were at home.
Last week, Svitolina’s padel club in Kyiv was hit by a Russian airstrike.
