Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska says family's flat destroyed in Russian missile strike on Odesa
Quick Look
- Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska reported her family's apartment in Odesa was destroyed by a Russian Kalibr cruise missile strike, sharing images of the wreckage and a surviving Roland Garros towel on social media.
- Odesa regional head said 37 people were injured, including a baby, with two missing in the missile and drone attack on Odesa and Chornomorsk.
- Yastremska, who reached the Australian Open semifinals in 2024 and is ranked 113th globally, noted it is not the first time Ukrainian athletes' homes have been hit since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The strike occurred amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022, during which Ukrainian athletes have repeatedly reported damage to their homes from Russian attacks.
Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska has said her family's flat has been destroyed in a Russian aerial strike on the Black Sea port of Odesa.
"This is what the 'Russian world' looks like. A direct hit by a Kalibr cruise missile," she wrote on social media, showing a photo of a burning multi-storey residential building.
"The only thing that survived was a Roland Garros... towel," the 26-year-old added, posting an image of a famous clay orange towel from Paris's Grand Slam tournament hanging from the wreckage.
Odesa regional head Oleh Kiper said 37 people were injured, including a baby, and two missing in the missile and drone attack on Odesa and nearby Chornomorsk on Friday night.
"A Russian missile destroyed our apartment in Odesa... SYMBOLIC. A piece of world tennis survived a Russian missile. Our home did not," Yastremska wrote on Instagram on Saturday.
"@wta @itf_reviews Look at these images through our eyes," she said in a reference to the governing bodies of world tennis - the Women's Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation.
Yastremska - who in 2024 reached the semifinal stage of the Australian Open - is currently 113th in the women's world singles rankings.
It is not the first time Ukrainian athletes' homes have been hit by Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Last year, Ukraine international football midfielder Heorhiy Sudakov said his flat in the capital Kyiv had been severely damaged by a Russian drone while his wife and child were at home.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
WTA and ITF may issue statements condemning the attack and calling for protection of athletes' families
Likely · Within days
International condemnation of the missile strike on Odesa will likely increase
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- What specific military objectives Russia aimed to achieve with the Odesa and Chornomorsk strike
- Whether the missile strike was part of a broader pattern targeting civilian infrastructure
- What immediate humanitarian assistance is being provided to the 37 injured and displaced residents
