In brief
Dayana Yastremska, a rising Ukrainian tennis player, confirmed that a Russian Kalibr cruise missile devastated her family apartment in Odesa, Russia’s Black Sea port. In a striking image of the blaze, the only item that survived the strike was an iconic Roland Garros tournament towel, symbolically linking sport and war. Yastremska posted the photo on Instagram, lamenting the destruction while calling on the Women's Tennis Association and International Tennis Federation to recognize the tragedy. The attack, one of many targeting Ukrainian athletes, resulted in 37 injuries and two missing persons, underlining the broader human cost of the conflict.
Dayana Yastremska, a Ukrainian tennis player ranked 113th in the world, declared that a Kalibr cruise missile launched by Russia has destroyed her family's flat in Odesa.
She marked the devastation by posting a photo of a burning multi‑storey residential building on social media, stating, “A direct hit by a Kalibr cruise missile.” In the picture, the only item that survived the blast was a legendary orange clay towel from the Roland Garros tournament.
Yastremska posted a follow‑up photo of the battered towel hanging from the wreckage, writing, “This is what the ‘Russian world’ looks like. The only thing that survived was a Roland Garros towel.” She urged the Women’s Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation to see the images “through our eyes.”
According to Odesa regional head Oleh Kiper, the missile and drone attack injured 37 people, including a baby, and left two individuals missing. The incident is part of a string of attacks that have repeatedly targeted Ukrainian athletes’ homes since the invasion began in 2022.
Yastremska, who reached the Australian Open semi‑finals in 2024, also highlighted that this is not the first time a Ukrainian athlete’s residence has been hit, citing football midfielder Heorhiy Sudakov’s experience with a drone strike in Kyiv.
