Dayana Yastremska delivered a polished performance as the Ukrainian kept her "very emotional" run going at the Lyon Open.

The 21-year-old broke serve five times on her way to a 6-2 6-3 victory over Spain's Cristina Bucsa in an hour and five minutes, booking a quarter-final place.

Yastremska fled war-ravaged Ukraine last week, along with sister Ivanna, escaping through Romania but leaving their parents behind in Odessa after Russia's invasion began.

The three-time WTA tournament winner has spoken of the decision by her mother to stay with her father, and how that left the sisters tearful and agonising over when the family might be reunited.

Yastremska began her campaign in Lyon with a gruelling three-set win over Ana Bogdan and followed up impressively by sweeping aside Bucsa.

"Today, definitely it was a little bit easier. With my emotions, I could keep them under control, so I'm very happy with that," Yastremska said in an on-court interview, broadcast on Amazon Prime.

"I tried yesterday to recover myself as fast as possible to prepare for my match today. Still, I was very nervous because I wanted to win the match for my country.

"This tournament is very emotional for me, but I'm very happy with the win today. To be honest I'm very happy that I'm here, that I'm in a safe place with my sister."

The former world number 21, now down at 140 in the WTA rankings, was joined in the last eight by Zhang Shuai of China and France's Caroline Garcia.

Also going through to the quarter-finals on Thursday was Vitalia Diatchenko, a Russian playing under a neutral flag this week. She beat Swiss third seed Viktorija Golubic in three sets.

Leylah Fernandez reached the quarter-finals of the Monterrey Open with a battling three-set win over Qinwen Zheng.

Last year's US Open runner-up came through 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7-3) in two hours and 42 minutes to continue the defence of the title she won last March.

Fernandez won a marathon second game on her eighth break point and consolidated that break with a second to go 5-1 ahead in a one-sided first set.

She served out the opener at the third time of asking, but Zheng was beginning to find her feet in the contest and threatened the Fernandez serve early in the second set.

Zheng's first break points finally came at 5-4 and she took her chance to level the contest against the 19-year-old.

But Fernandez outlasted Zheng in a tense decider that went the distance after both players held serve, the second seed aggressively attacking her opponent to take the tie-break 7-3.

Fifth seed Camila Osorio ended the challenge of home hope Marcela Zacarias, meanwhile, the Colombian winning 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

She will next face either top seed Elina Svitolina or Viktoriya Tomova in the last eight.

Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia was a 6-2 6-2 winner against Xinyu Wang and will contest a quarter-final against either Marie Bouzkova or Petra Martic.

Sara Sorribes Tormo was also a straight-sets winner in Wednesday's action, the fourth seed easing past Harmony Tan 6-2 6-2. 

Viktorija Golubic came from a set down to beat lucky loser Mai Hontama and move into the second round of the Lyon Open on Wednesday.

Third seed Golubic was given the run-around by Hontama in the first set before fighting back to win 1-6 6-4 6-4.

Golubic had to dig deep to secure a meeting with Vitalia Diatchenko, who beat Anna-Lena Friedsam, as Hontama's deft drop shots had given her a scent of pulling off an upset.

The Swiss broke six times and saved six break points, wrapping up a well-earned victory in two hours and 10 minutes.

Golubic's compatriot Stefanie Voegele bowed out at the second-round stage, losing 6-3 7-5 to second seed Sorana Cirstea.

Anna Bondar reached the quarter-finals when Katie Boulter retired due to injury after losing the first set 6-3.

Alison Van Uytvanck won the final match of the day, getting the better of Varvara Gracheva 6-2 6-4 to advance to the last eight.

Elina Svitolina said she "was on a mission" for Ukraine after earning a straight-sets win over Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova in the opening round of the Monterrey Open.

The top seed donned the yellow and blue colours of her homeland for Tuesday's match and eased to a 6-2 6-1 victory in a little over an hour in Mexico.

Svitolina only agreed to play her opener after tennis authorities announced a ban on Russian and Belarussian players competing under the name and flags of their countries.

And as Russia's invasion of Ukraine entered its sixth day, the 27-year-old produced an impressive performance that saw her win 73.5 per cent of her first-serve points.

Former world number three Svitolina, who will now face Bulgarian qualifier Viktoriya Tomova, had previously announced she will donate her prize money to the Ukrainian army.

"It's a special one because of what we are going through right now in Ukraine, it's terrifying," Svitolina told reporters. 

"It's been six days and all the Ukrainian tennis players and Ukrainians who are there, we have been really terrified with what is happening.

"For me, playing the match here, I'm not playing only for myself. I'm playing for my country, I'm playing for the help of the Ukrainian army and people in need. 

"I was focused. I was on a mission for my country. From the beginning, it was important to be ready for anything that comes my way."

Petra Martic is also through to round two after recovering from behind to beat third seed Madison Keys 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

Marie Bouzkova awaits following the world number 81's 4-6 6-2 6-4 win against Sara Errani. Number eight seed Ann Li's participation in the tournament came to an end with a 6-2 6-1 loss to Wang Xinyu, who will now face Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Russian and Belarusian players, including ATP world number one Daniil Medvedev, will still be able to compete on the Tours and at grand slams, but the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has suspended the countries' teams.

Russia's Medvedev was only crowned world number one for the first time on Monday, though that success came amid the backdrop of an ongoing conflict between his nation and Ukraine.

To widespread international condemnation, Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday, with that conflict since escalating further. Belarus, meanwhile, was effectively used as a staging post for part of the invasion force, though Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has insisted the nation's military did not and will not play any part in any operation.

Governments and organisations around the world, including governing bodies within sport, have responded with strict sanctions against Russia and certain individuals with links to president Vladimir Putin.

On Tuesday, the governing bodies of tennis (the ITF, ATP, WTA and the four grand slam events) announced sanctions of their own.

While Medvedev and other Russian and Belarusian players, including Andrey Rublev and WTA world number three Aryna Sabalenka, will be allowed to play in tournaments on both the men's and women's Tours, and the four grand slams, they will have to compete under neutral banners, with the flags of each country banned.

However, the WTA and ATP combined event in Moscow, scheduled to take place in October, has been suspended.

Meanwhile, Russia and Belarus have had their memberships of the ITF revoked, while all ITF tournaments set to be held in those countries have been suspended indefinitely.

Russia hold both the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.

The immediate upshot of the decision is that Elina Svitolina, the Ukrainian who is top seed at the Monterrey Open, will play her first-round match against Anastasia Potapova on Monday.

Svitolina said earlier in the day that she would refuse to play against any Russian or Belarusian opponent unless all national emblems, flags and colours were removed.

However, prior to the joint announcement from tennis' governing bodies, Svitolina told ITV News: "There's been a lot of discussion.

"Today they will release a statement that they will remove the flags. So we are waiting just for the final confirmation about that. I will be playing tonight because my opponent is going to be under a neutral flag."

Svitolina has pledged to donate all of her prize money from upcoming tournaments to assist Ukraine's fight against Russia.

The statement from tennis' governing bodies read: "A deep sense of distress, shock and sadness has been felt across the entire tennis community following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the past week.

"Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine, and we commend the many tennis players who have spoken out and taken action against this unacceptable act of aggression. We echo their calls for the violence to end and peace to return.

"The safety of the tennis community is our most immediate collective priority. The focus of the WTA and ATP in particular in recent days has been on contacting current and former players, and other members of the tennis community from Ukraine and neighbouring countries, to check on their safety and offer any assistance."

Top seed Camila Giorgi was beaten in three sets by Caroline Garcia at the Lyon Open on Tuesday.

Italian Giorgi battled to take the first set but was pegged back by the home favourite before her game collapsed in a 5-7 6-4 6-0 defeat.

Dominant on serve in the opening set, Giorgi failed to take either of two break points at 3-2 up in the second set. She then won only one point in three consecutive games to allow Garcia to level.

The world number 29 earned just two points on serve in a one-sided decider as Garcia set up a last-16 clash with another Italian, Martina Trevisan.

Earlier, Russian Vera Zvonareva was comfortably beaten by seventh seed Alison van Uytvanck, who could await Garcia in the quarter-finals.

Zhang Shuai beat Kristina Mladenovic 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 to secure a match with Arantxa Rus, who defeated Danka Kovinic for the loss of just two games.

The top-ranked remaining player in the draw, world number 30 Sorana Cirstea, sealed a round-of-16 showdown with Stefanie Voegele after a comfortable 6-3 6-1 defeat of Mariam Bolkvadze.

US Open runner-up Leyla Fernandez cruised into the second round of the Monterrey Open after a straight-sets win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Monday.

Monterrey Open defending champion Fernandez won 6-2 6-2 over the Slovakian, with the Canadian second seed dominant in all aspects as she triumphed in one hour and eight minutes.

In the longest match of the day, fourth seed Sara Sorribes Tormo needed more than three hours to edge Kamilla Rakhimova 7-5 6-7 (2-7) 6-1.

Fifth seed Camila Osorio defeated Magdalena Frech 6-3 7-6 (8-6), while Briton Heather Watson won 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-4) over Jule Niemeier.

Harmony Tan, Marcela Zacarias, Viktoriya Tomova and Beatriz Haddad Maia were other winners on Monday.

Elina Svitolina will refuse to play Russian or Belarusian players unless tennis' governing bodies have them compete as neutral athletes in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The world number 15, who has committed to donating all of her prize money to Ukrainian military and humanitarian efforts, has been drawn against Russia's Anastasia Potapova in the first round of the Monterrey Open.

In a post on Twitter, Svitolina announced she would not contest that match or any other against players from Russia or Belarus unless the ATP, WTA and ITF follow the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and remove any reference to their national identities.

Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine last Thursday, with neighbouring Belarus effectively used as a staging post for Russian military.

Svitolina wrote: "I believe the current situation requires a clear position from our organisations: ATP, WTA and ITF. As such, we – Ukrainian players – requested to ATP, WTA and ITF to follow the recommendations of the IOC to accept Russian or Belarusian nationals only as neutral athletes, without displaying any national symbols, colours, flags or anthems.

"Accordingly, I want to announce that I will not play tomorrow [Tuesday] in Monterrey, nor any other match against Russian or Belarusian tennis players until our organisations take this necessary decision."

Svitolina saluted the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russian players who have all spoken out against the war.

She added: "I do not blame any of the Russian athletes. They are not responsible for the invasion of our motherland.

"Moreover, I wish to pay tribute to all the players, especially Russians and Belarusians, who bravely stated their position against the war. Their support is essential."

Alize Cornet crashed out on home soil as the Lyon Open got under way on Monday.

Fourth seed Cornet went down to a surprise defeat against Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa to disappoint the French support.

Bucsa, the world number 139, broke serve on six occasions as she came from behind to triumph 1-6 6-4 6-1 and dispatch Cornet, who was the highest-seeded player taking to the court on day one.

Fifth seed Jasmine Paolini almost joined Cornet in suffering an early exit at the WTA 250 event.

However, the Italian rallied to defeat Irina Bara 4-6 7-5 6-3 in a battle lasting two hours and 25 minutes.

Elsewhere, six aces helped Varvara Gracheva edge past Kristina Kucova in a 7-6 (7-0) 7-6 (7-2) win.

Paolini's compatriot Camila Giorgi is the number one seed at the tournament.

Giorgi is due to start her campaign on Tuesday after being handed a standout draw against home favourite Caroline Garcia.

Former US Open winner Sloane Stephens claimed her first WTA title since 2018 after downing Marie Bouzkova in three sets in Sunday's Abierto Zapopan decider in Guadalajara.

American sixth seed Stephens triumphed 7-5 1-6 6-2 in an epic final which lasted two hours and 28 minutes against 96th-ranked Bouzkova.

Stephens, who won the 2017 US Open, has struggled to re-discover her previous levels of success in recent years, having gone undefeated in the first six WTA singles finals of her career and reaching the world number three ranking.

But Sunday's triumph – Stephens' seventh career WTA title - marks a major return to form for the 28-year-old who lost in the first round of last month's Australian Open to Emma Raducanu.

Stephens had trailed 4-1 in the first set but hit back before Bouzkova double faulted on break point at 5-5.

However, the Czech responded in a one-sided second set, breaking Stephens early and never looking back.

The American claimed the first break of the deciding set at 3-2, with Bouzkova letting slip a 40-0 lead, with Stephens' forehand leading her to victory.

Elina Svitolina has penned an emotive letter to her homeland of Ukraine, pledging to donate her prize money to military and humanitarian needs after Russia's invasion.

Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday. That conflict has escalated over the weekend.

Russia and Vladimir Putin's government faces heavy political and financial sanctions, while sports organisations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and UEFA have also condemned the attack.

St Petersburg has been stripped of this season's Champions League final, while Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic have refused to play Russia in qualifiers for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Formula One has pulled the Russian Grand Prix from its race calendar for 2022.

Several tennis players have spoken out against Russia's aggression, including Russian duo Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev, who will ascend to world number one in the ATP rankings on Monday.

On Saturday, Svitolina – the former WTA world number three – told Sky Sports News she was "shocked at this terrible nightmare".

Svitolina has family and friends back in Ukraine and, on Sunday, she posted an emotional message on her social media channels.

"Letter to my Motherland, I am currently far away from you, out of sight from my loved ones, far from my people, but my heart has never felt so warm and filled of your soul," Svitolina's message read.

"It is difficult to express how special you are. To me you are strong, beautiful and unique. You gave me everything and I cherish every piece of you: your culture, your education, your lands, your seas, your cities, your people. My people.

"My people, every day I fear for you. I am devastated, my eyes won't stop crying, my heart won't stop bleeding. But I am so proud. See our people, our mothers, our fathers, our brothers, our sisters, our children, they are so brave and strong, fighting to defend you. They are heroes.

"I commit to redistribute the prize money of my next tournaments to support army and humanitarian needs and help them to defend you, our country.

"Ukraine, you unify us, you are our identity. You are our past and our future. We are Ukraine."

Svitolina also called on other nations to continue to step up their efforts to stop the invasion.

"May the world see it and help us to join forces to protect you," she wrote. "You are in all my thoughts and prayers. You are always with me. I am Ukraine. We are Ukraine."

American sixth seed Sloane Stephens will face Czech Marie Bouzkova in the WTA Abierto Zapopan final in Guadalajara on Sunday after the pair triumphed in Saturday's semi-finals.

The 2017 US Open champion qualified for her first final since 2018, winning 3-6 7-5 (ret) with Russian opponent Anna Kalinskaya succumbing to injury late in the second set.

Kalinskaya retired shortly after Stephens claimed the second set having battled through back pain for several games, with the match moving close to two hours.

The Russian had shown signs of injury during Friday's quarter-final win over Camila Osorio which she won in straight sets, yet Kalinskaya raced into the lead in the first set against Stephens.

Bouzkova, who knocked out reigning champion Sara Sorribes Tormo in Friday's quarter-finals, triumphed 6-3 6-3 oover Qiang Wang  in one hour and 31 minutes.

The 23-year-old Czech is ranked 96th in the world and has never won a WTA Tour singles title.

Iga Swiatek thrashed Anett Kontaveit on Saturday to win the Qatar Ladies Open title.

The world number eight triumphed 6-2 6-0 to win her first Tour title of 2022 and the fourth of her career.

Swiatek, who has now claimed two titles at the WTA 1000 level, won the final 10 games of the contest as Kontaveit was powerless to stop her nine-match winning streak coming to an end.

The 2020 French Open champion Swiatek has only dropped 11 games in the four finals she has won.

Kontaveit fought back to 2-2 after an early break of serve, but that was the last time she would win a game as Swiatek took control.

Having survived break points to see out the opening set, Swiatek powered through the second, dropping just four points on serve as she raced to victory in 66 minutes.

Swiatek has now won her last three matches against Kontaveit, taking the overall head-to-head record to 3-2 wins in her favour.

Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina is "really praying" for her country after Russia invaded on Thursday, following weeks of rising political tensions in the region.

The conflict escalated further on Friday, with the fighting reaching the capital city of Kyiv.

Several high profile sports figures have publicly expressed their opposition to war, including Russia's Andrey Rublev who wrote "no war please" on a camera lens at the Dubai Tennis Championships, joining compatriot Daniil Medvedev in calling for peace.

Svitolina - who is ranked 15th in the world - has said she is praying for peace and trying to keep in contact with her family back in Ukraine.

"I'm shocked at this terrible nightmare," Svitolina told Sky Sports News. "I'm really praying every single minute for my family, for my friends, for all people in Ukraine and around the world for safety, for peace.

"Considering what people are going through in Ukraine and what my family are going through while being in Ukraine and friends, I try to keep in contact with them to see what's happening there.

"I'm very safe compared to them. To be honest with you, I'm only thinking about them and for me, it's a very stressful time because I cannot do anything. I cannot really help them. I wish I could help them. It's extremely tough mentally for me. I cannot imagine what they are going through. I'm just praying.

"It's a horrible situation for the people in Ukraine, what they have to go through without sleepless nights, without food and electricity so that's horrible. For me, it's heartbreaking to hear this.

"The war is something we have to stop and it's something better than anything else. What is happening is very tough for me to imagine."

Sloane Stephens fought back from a set down to reach her first hard court semi-finals since 2018 as she defeated Daria Saville at the WTA Abierto Zapopan on Friday.

The 2017 US Open champion triumphed in two hours and 29 minutes over the Australian, winning 4-6 6-3 6-2 in Guadalajara.

Stephens, who will play Russian Anna Kalinskaya in the last four, had not reached a hard court semi since the 2018 WTA Finals.

But the American was forced to do it the hard way after losing the first set, saving nine of 13 break points across the match, with her ability to win second serve points proving key.

Colombian fourth seed Camila Osorio was bundled out in 80 minutes by Kalinskaya 6-4 6-1.

There was also a straight-sets win for Marie Bouzkova after she defeated third seed Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4 6-1.

She will face Wang Qiang in the last eight, who proved too good for Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2 6-3.