“Vitaly gave an interview to journalist Ben Rotenberg and spoke about the war in Ukraine”, — write: sport.ua
– Perhaps this is the biggest achievement in your career – the semifinals of the ATP tournament, and especially considering who you beat – Mpeshi Perrikar and Bagel. How do you feel after such a result, and what do you think is the key to success?
– Of course, as you said, I beat a lot of strong players, and it’s an amazing feeling. To be honest, I did not expect this – after losing in the final of the qualification, I was already looking at the tickets to go home. And then I found out that there was a chance to get into the main draw, and I just decided to go out on the court and have fun. We played with Mpeshi Perikar – on the center court, there was an incredible atmosphere. I just tried to enjoy every second on the court and continue to do so now.
– I think that playing on the center court and the atmosphere that accompanied all three of your matches helped you to show even stronger tennis?
– Of course. I love when there are spectators, when something happens in the stands. I usually play in the Challenger series, and there are only late stages where the stands are full. And yes – almost no one is there, and you just fight, struggle. And here it is a completely different level, just another planet.
– Thanks to these victories, you are back in the top 200, and perhaps most importantly, now you will be able to play the qualifiers of the Grand Slam tournaments again next season. How significant is this stage in your career to get the opportunity to compete in such big competitions? Still, even qualifying at the “majors” brings much more prize money than the “challengers”.
– Of course, this was the goal – to make it to the Grand Slam tournaments. But now I try to focus only on my game and the process. I try to think less about all kinds of things and not to overload my head – I think this is the most important thing.
– This is the best result of a Ukrainian tennis player at the ATP level since 2017. In the interview on the court, you ended with the words “Glory to Ukraine”. What does this result mean for you as a Ukrainian? Why is this so important to you now?
– As you know, a full-scale war with Russia is going on in our country. Men’s tennis in Ukraine is currently going through difficult times, so I am trying to at least represent my country decently.
It means a lot to me. I have received many messages from Ukrainian fans during this week and wanted to show that I am with them in mind. They fight there and I try to fight on the court.
– How did the war affect your tennis career? After all, it has been going on for almost four years.
– I think she influenced every Ukrainian. I still have family there, I read all the news, I keep in touch with them. Especially in the beginning, it was very, very difficult for everyone – first of all, morally. And now, to be honest, I’m still very acutely experiencing everything. Every time I read about what is happening, see how the Russians are bombing civilians, I want to cry. In a way, I’m lucky that I grew up in the Czech Republic and have lived there since I was a child, and the rest of my family there too. But still, I just can’t find the words, it really hurts me that all this is happening. And for my part, I try to help what I can – with my results on the court.
– Yes, I did not know that you live in the Czech Republic. I mean, you haven’t been to Ukraine since the beginning of the war, since you are based in the Czech Republic?
– No, I have been living in the Czech Republic for 20 years.
– How do you think the war affected Ukrainian men’s tennis? I spoke with several Ukrainian women – Svitolina, Kostiuk and others – they often talk about the difficulties they face against the background of the war. But, for sure, the situation may be different for men – after all, many of them are of draft age, some could be mobilized, some may have left. How do you think all this affected men’s tennis in Ukraine?
– I think the impact was huge. Many men – some went to fight, some left because of the war. This is a very difficult situation. And sports, like everything else, ended up in the background. People began to invest less money, because everyone is investing in drones, helping the army, trying to support defenders. So tennis just can’t be a priority right now and it’s unfortunately obvious.
– What about supporting you personally in Tour? After all, as I understand it, there are almost no Ukrainian men on the ATP now, you seem to be the only one at least in the top-300. How do you live and travel in such conditions – do you feel supported or, on the contrary, lonely, because the girls, for example, have their own group, and you seem to be more on your own?
– To be honest, at the beginning we had a lot of support. It was a real “boom”: we got financial help from ATP and it was great. As far as I know, at that time every Ukrainian player received such support.
But over time everything changed. People are probably a little used to what is happening. The war continues, but it is less and less talked about.
Now many people perceive it as something usual and it is, of course, sad. But the war did not go anywhere. It is still ongoing.
– So you want to say that now the support from ATP is less than it was at the beginning of the war?
– I would say that now we do not receive any support at all. I think that all Ukrainian players are now just holding on to their own account, by themselves.
– You didn’t have many matches against the Russians this season – it seems, only one. In the women’s tour, such meetings often cause great resonance. How do you perceive such matches?
– Yes, I had several matches against Russian players. When you go out on the court, you just play, but, of course, against them there is an additional motivation. For me, the best win is just beating them on the court and that’s it. I have no relationship with them.
– What would you like your success this week to mean for Ukraine, which is still going through the war?
– Judging by the messages I receive, people are very happy for me – that finally someone appeared who was able to reach such a level. I’m here in my “bubble” focused on my own business and I don’t really know what’s going on outside the tournament, but as far as I understand, I’m supported there. I get a lot of messages on Instagram and WhatsApp and it really makes me happy that people are following me and happy about my success.
A somewhat under-the-radar story this week:Vitaliy Sachko, ranked 222nd, became the first Ukrainian man into an ATP semifinal in eight years with his run in Metz.
We discussed the impact of the war on Ukrainian men’s tennis at Bounces tonight: https://t.co/xTuP1TlbZ3
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) November 7, 2025