Sawt Falasteen - Ukrainian doubles player mulls return to help in war effort

Molchanov, who teamed up with Russian-born Andrey Golubev in the Wimbledon men's doubles, is currently based in Zagreb with his wife and daughter, who fled Ukraine hours after Russia's invasion in late February.

"It's always in my mind," he said following his first-round defeat to Pedro Martinez and John-Patrick Smith at the All England Club.

"It's tough to play in these conditions when we have (the war) right now in our country and it's not about tennis right now."

The 35-year-old won his first ATP doubles title in Marseille with Russia's Andrey Rublev days before the war broke out and subsequently suffered a bout of coronavirus that kept him in France.

"I was lucky because I got Covid after Marseille so I was stuck in France when it started so I couldn't go back," he said. "If I'd gone back I couldn't go out".

Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 are unable to leave the country because they are eligible for military service.

Molchanov's wife, Kateryna, daughter Stefania, and parents jumped in a car and fled.

Kateryna, a doctor, is working as an assistant medic in Croatia while his four-year-old daughter goes to kindergarten.

But Molchanov's parents returned to their home near the Kyiv suburb of Bucha -- where dozens of bodies in civilian clothing were found following the withdrawal of Russian troops -- after a number of weeks outside the country.

He said they "couldn't sleep".

Molchanov said he knew many people who had been killed in the conflict and cannot face watching pictures of his country "getting destroyed".

The devastation includes the destruction of high-class tennis facilities near his home.

- Stakhovsky example -

Molchanov, ranked 97th in doubles, said he was considering following the example of his former Davis Cup doubles partner Sergiy Stakhovsky, who retired from tennis earlier this year and has since joined Ukraine's reserve forces.

"He's helping in different ways but at the same time he cannot help like a soldier, it doesn't make sense," he said.

"But he's helping Ukraine a lot in different ways with humanitarian things, with everything."

Molchanov, whose brother is also volunteering in Ukraine, said he was considering how he could help in the war effort.

"Everyone thought it would be a quick thing, it's going to last not more than one month -- they hit us, they make us care and that's it," he said.

"But right now it's a huge war and maybe one day if it doesn't stop I make a decision to stop and to go there as well. I feel that maybe some day I have to."

For now the player is finding it tough to focus on his day job.

Molchanov and Golubev -- born in Russia but who represents Kazakhstan -- lost in straight sets in their first-round match on Wednesday.

"It's difficult to go and train, to practise, to find the fighting spirit on court during the matches... I just walk like a zombie there.

"What is happening in Ukraine, it's slowly destroying the country and people. Not everyone like me can go out of the country, bring the family.

"I'm not the richest guy but still I have some money to do this and people from the villages and small places that cannot do it, they just have to stay there and die."

The Ukrainian backs Wimbledon's decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus from the Grand Slam and said they should be barred from all tournaments.

"Even though they are my friends it's the right decision right now," he said. "There is no other option. They have to be banned everywhere."

F.AbuShamala--SF-PST