Evgeniy Zukin says the only way to ensure tennis' future in Ukraine is by stopping the war started by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia, with Belarus' assistance, invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The war still rages on, but in sport, Ukrainian athletes are carrying on, with Elina Svitolina becoming something of a figurehead with an exceptional run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon this month.
Zukin, the chief of the Ukraine Tennis Federation (UTF), is proud of the achievements of his compatriots, but warned that the "golden age" of Ukrainian tennis could ultimately lead to nothing down the line.
"This is the hard work of all the players themselves and the federation, the clubs, who put in those efforts in the last 10 years – the results are following just now," he told Stats Perform.
"We are truly happy, so many players in the top 50 and the way they play is inspirational and they have chances of beating the top players all the time. It's great.
"But could you imagine if this moment had come in a peaceful situation, in a good economical situation, because our main focus as the federation in the peaceful times was to promote our sports so that the parent would decide which sport their child would take up.
"They might go to tennis because it has tradition, good results, good coaches, so that’s why we need results on top, to grow the mass participation, to involve more people at grassroots. From those grassroots, there’d be more players, and from there more talents who become professionals if they work hard enough.
"Unfortunately now this is not the case and the problem is not many will be able to afford tennis for quite a big period of time.
"This is a golden age for [Ukrainian] women's tennis, for sure, but I'm really worried what's going to be there when this generation stops playing, and for the next generation."
Zukin says there is little the sporting community can do. Instead, the onus must be on the war coming to an end.
"We need to stop the war. This is the most important thing," he said.
"We cannot do anything in tennis when there are bombings in Kyiv, not even at the frontline, even in western Ukraine. We need to stop the war.
"Tennis is dependent on the economic situation of normal people, who can invest in their child until at least 13, 14, when we can understand if the kid can be a professional.
"Then we could support them, find an investor or a club. Those first five, six, seven years, it's the parents who are taking on most of the expenses.
"We need to stop the war, get back our normal economy and get it even better, with all the infrastructure that we lost already – it's not going to be easy, this is what we see as the biggest challenge, the economic resurrection.
"It's not about how many [tennis] courts were destroyed, the parents need to invest in their kids and be able to do this."
Sinner avoids O'Connell upset at US Open
Jannik Sinner beat Australia's Christopher O'Connell in straight sets to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday, avoiding a similar fate to Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
The men's draw at Flushing Meadows has been blown wide open by early exits for Alcaraz and Djokovic, but the top seed remains in the hunt after a composed performance.
He reached the fourth round for a fourth consecutive year with a routine 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory, setting the tone with several huge groundstrokes in the opening set.
O'Connell never looked likely to fight back as Sinner smashed 46 winners in a ruthless performance, wrapping up his win in one hour and 56 minutes.
The Australian Open champion will face either Tommy Paul or Gabriel Diallo for a place in the last eight, and he was relieved to survive an opening week full of surprises.
"Everything can happen in this sport, so I try to stay on my side of the net and I'm trying to take the tournament day by day," Sinner said in his on-court interview after the win.
"Each opponent is a very tough challenge and [I am] also enjoying every moment on the court. There have been already a couple of upsets, so let's see what's coming.
"But I'm very happy to still be here and hopefully I can play as many matches as possible. But as I said, we go day by day and then we'll see how it goes."
Data Debrief: Sinner heating up
Sinner lost his first set of the tournament to Mackenzie McDonald but has been largely untouchable since then.
He has only lost 18 games across his last nine sets of tennis, an average of two per set.
The Italian's winning streak now stands at seven straight matches, meanwhile, following his triumphant Cincinnati Open run.
US Open: Sabalenka overcomes first set scare to progress in late start
Aryna Sabalenka came from a set down to keep her US Open dream alive as she beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in the early hours at Flushing Meadows.
Sabalenka emerged on court at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at seven minutes past midnight following Novak Djokovic's shock exit from the tournament, and consecutive upsets looked to be on the cards.
However, the Belarusian responded from a disappointing opening set as she looks to avenge her defeat in the showpiece match against Coco Gauff a year ago.
The world number two set up a meeting with Belgium's Elise Mertens as she emerged a 2-6 6-1 6-2 victor in one hour and 40 minutes in New York.
"I don't know what I did, I was just trying to stay low, put as many balls as I can back on that side," Sabalenka said.
"She played incredible tennis in the first set. It was really tough to change it."
"I'm really happy I was able to turn around this match and get this really difficult win. Thanks so much for staying that late."
Data Debrief: Sabalenka survives late, late show
Sabalenka's encounter with Alexandrova was the latest starting match at the US Open, beating Gabriela Sabatini and Beverley Bowes' meeting in 1987 that started at midnight.
The Belarusian, however, will be hoping for a much improved performance in the next round, having produced 27 unforced errors throughout the contest and serving four double faults.
US Open: Djokovic played 'worst tennis ever' in Popyrin loss
Defending US Open champion Novak Djokovic suffered a shock exit at Flushing Meadows as he lost in four sets to Alexei Popyrin.
Djokovic arrived at the tournament with confidence following his gold medal triumph at the Paris Olympics, and was tipped to lift a record-extending 25th grand slam title.
However, the Serbian's hopes of a fifth success in New York were dashed as he followed fellow favourite Carlos Alcaraz out of the competition in the third round.
Popyrin emerged victorious in three hours and 18 minutes, prevailing 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 to confirm Djokovic's earliest exit from the tournament in 18 years.
"I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played," Djokovic said.
"Honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success."
"I tried my best, I didn't have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas, and you could see that. From the first match, I just didn't find myself on this court.
"Life moves on. I'll try to recalibrate and look forward to what's next."
Data Debrief: Another one bites the dust
Djokovic was far from his clinical best, serving a career-high 14 double faults in a grand slam match and committing 49 unforced errors.
The Serbian will also end the year without winning a grand slam title, the first time he has done so since 2017.
But the day belonged to Popyrin, saving 12 of the 16 break points he faced against the world number two, finding particular success with his forehand as 31 of his 49 winners came from that shot.
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