Following his semi-final win over Hubert Hurkacz in the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday, world No. 7 Andrey Rublev, a Russian star, left a message on the camera.
“No War Please,” he wrote.
The 24-year-old received a large round of applause from the audience after he wrote the message.
The Russian tennis player admitted to receiving negative comments towards him this week due to the Russia-Ukraine military crisis. With the marker, Rublev made sure to write where he stood in regards to the conflict.
“In these moments you realize that my match is not important. It’s not about my match, how it affects me. What’s happening is much more terrible,” Rublev said on Thursday, per Reuters. “You realize how important [it] is to have peace in the world and to respect each other no matter what, to be united. It’s about that. We should take care of our earth and of each other. This is the most important thing.”
Last week, Rublev partnered with Ukrainian Denys Molchanov in Marseille. They ended up winning the doubles title together, and it has now become a symbolic message from the pair regarding their home countries.
Rublev isn’t the only star tennis player from Russia calling for peace this week. World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev took the time in his post-game interview on Thursday at the Mexican Open to preach his wish for peace in the world.
