'Yes, I'm scared': Retired Ukrainian tennis player prepares to fight invading Russians

A week ago, a recently retired Ukrainian tennis player, whose big moment was once beating Roger Federer in the second round at Wimbledon, was trying to get his family to safety.

But last week seems a lifetime ago and, today, Sergiy Stakhovsky waits in uniform in a bulletproof vest in central Kyiv for the chance to fight Russian soldiers.

He told Sky News: “We flew to Budapest and I kissed the kids goodbye. My wife knew I’d made a decision that she’s not gonna like and she was upset.

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“The little one, who is a daddy’s boy, asked where I was going and I told him I’m just going to the garage and then I left.

“I crossed the border and I was the only one going the other way. There was a big queue of families, women and kids trying to escape.

“It was a tough journey but it was inspiring. While we were travelling we drove through a lot of cities and we saw the level of enthusiasm and motivation from people.

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“They were blocking roads leading to villages, making barricades, getting out their hunting guns, making checkpoints.

“The whole nation is so extremely motivated to fight this off. It’s insane what Russia is doing.”

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‘None of them supports Putin’

It’s a world away from his life as a pro player a few weeks ago when his main worry was trying to qualifying for the Australian Open and booking practice courts.

But he’s felt the support of the tennis community and even the Russian players have reached out.

“I’ve talked to almost all of them and none of them wants the war, none of them supports Putin.

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“I know all the Russian players and I’ve spoken to two and I know the general opinion as well because we’ve known each other for years.

“It’s very hard for them,” he explains as even calling for the war to end is a dangerous business in Russia.

“You have to understand [Alexei] Navalny [opposition leader] was poisoned and sent to prison.

“There’s not really a lot stopping the Russian Federation and Putin from just killing random people.

“It doesn’t matter their rank and value. It’s very hard for professional athletes to call out the regime because they still have relatives in that country which can be in danger.

“I cannot really ask tennis players to come out and say what they want to say. It’s impossible.”

‘Everyone accepts we will have to fight’

So far, he says it’s pretty quiet in Kyiv.

“The shops are open but they don’t have enough drivers to restock but there’s people on the street trying to buy groceries and medicines.

“I do logistics, load, off load, do some patrols and sleep.

“We hear some shelling now and then but nothing is very close to the city centre.

“Spirits are high although everyone accepts that we will have to fight. But we hope we’ll be left alone.”

Asked if he’s had any military training yet, it seems not.

“We’ve had the basics explained and when it comes to shooting test rounds they said ‘don’t worry, you will have plenty of targets to shoot at’.”

He also hasn’t seen any Russian soldiers yet.

“Unfortunately not. If there is a small unit entering the city there will be a wild hunt.

“Everyone is going to get them. This is not a place for Russians.”