Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostiuk on July 8 condemned the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), calling the move "terrible."Kostiuk spoke to reporters just after becoming the second Ukrainian woman ever to advance to the semifinals at Wimbledon. The previous day, the IOC's Executive Board lifted the ban on Russia that been in place since October 2023."My thoughts are that it's terrible," Kostiuk said of the IOC ruling, according to ESPN."I think it's very, very far from fair play for all the countries involved here, not just for Ukraine. I 100% don't agree with this decision. ... I just want to go out there and hopefully beat every single Russian I play in the Olympics."Russian and Belarusian athletes have competed as "neutral" players in international sports tournaments, including the Olympic Games, since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.In their recent decision, the IOC recommended the neutral status be removed for athletes in individual sports, paving the way for Russian flags to fly at the Games once again.
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