Ukraine's Elina Svitolina tops Russia's Anastasia Potapova in Monterrey Open

In the opening round of the Monterrey Open, Elina Svitolina wore the yellow and blue colors of her country and beat Russia's Anastasia Potapova in a match that was boycotted by her.

The International Tennis Federation and the men's and women's tennis tours barred competitors from those countries using any national symbols.

The tennis governing bodies confirmed Tuesday that Russian and Belarusian players will still be allowed to play at the top level, but without national flags.

It was a very special match for me, but I am happy that I am playing tennis here.

I was focused. I was on a mission. It was important to be prepared from the beginning.

Svitolina is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist with 16 career tour-level singles titles who has been ranked as high as No. 3.

All of the prize money that I will earn is going to be for the Ukrainian army, said Svitolina, who won this tournament in 2020. The winner of the Monterrey Open will get $31,000.

Svitolina broke serve in the first and third games of her win over Potapova and will play against Tomova in the second round.

A huge convoy of Russian tanks and armored vehicles were on the road to the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, on Tuesday, as fighting intensified there and in other big cities.

At least 11 people were killed and dozens of others were wounded when Russia bombarded several key sites in the country.

In her social media post Monday, Svitolina said that her goal in demanding tennis was to follow the lead of the International Olympic Committee and insist that players from Russia and Belarus are not against individual competitors.

I don't blame any of the Russian athletes.

In her opening match at the Lyon Open in France, Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine defeated Ana Bogdan of Romania.

After fleeing her home country, she arrived in Romania by boat and made it to Lyon by Saturday. She wrote that she was sheltered in an underground parking garage for two days as Russian troops advanced on her.

I am happy that I won for my country, but at the same time I am sad.

This win is nothing compared to what is happening in my country. I am also fighting for my country. The Ukrainians are really heroes and I am proud of them. I hope everything will finish soon.

The report was contributed to by the Associated Press.