House of Ukrainian tennis star Lyudmyla Kichenok destroyed in overnight bombing by Russian forces

In some unfortunate news to resonate through the tennis community, Ukrainian tennis player Lyudmyla Kichenok suffered some losses as her home in Ukraine was destroyed due to Russian bombings that took place over the weekend.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there has been unrest in several parts of the European nation. This has prompted several Ukrainian WTA players to refuse shaking hands with their Russian counterparts, leading to tense moments during and after matches.

The Ukrainian star took to Instagram to announce she had lost her house due to bombings that took place overnight. According to a report by Sky, there were four victims and 23 people injured.

"The house where I live in Dnipro was bombed last night… Many injured and we still don’t know how many dead," wrote Kichenok alongside a photo of the rubble.

Furthermore, Kichenok revealed that the Bartolomeo hotel, a place where she used to train as a youth, had been destroyed by a fire caused by the Russian attack.

"I often trained on the courts of this beautiful hotel in my hometown," added Kichenok.

The 32-year old is a staple on the doubles tour, with a career-high of World No.3 in the doubles rankings. Kichenok captured the 2024 US Open doubles title alongside former Grand Slam champion Jelena Ostapenko, in addition to winning the 2023 Wimbledon mixed doubles championship with Croatian player Mate Pavic.