Ukraine tennis star Elina Svitolina went ahead with her Monterrey Open round of 32 match against Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova, despite previously refusing to play.

Svitolina decided to take to the court after being assured Potapova would compete under a neutral flag amid Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine - and won, while proudly wearing the yellow and blue of her home nation.

Ukrainian Svitolina and Russian Potapova shook hands after their match, with both speaking out on social media about the conflict
Svitolina proudly sported the colour of her home nation Ukraine, amid Russia's invasion

Svitolina, the top seed at the Mexico tournament, put out a statement on Monday saying she would not play against any Russian or Belarusian opponents unless all national emblems, flags and colours were removed.

Tennis' governing bodies have stopped short of following other sports by preventing athletes from both countries competing, but Russian and Belarusian tennis players have been told they must compete under a neutral flag to keep playing until further notice.

Russia and Belarus have, however, been barred from international tournaments the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, and Russian and Belarus Tennis Federations have both been suspended by the International Tennis Federation.

It means Russian Daniil Medvedev will keep with world No.1 ranking in the men's game, following claims he could be banned from playing a matter of days before his new position was confirmed.

US Open winner Medvedev officially claimed the top spot from Novak Djokovic on Monday to become the first non-Big Four player – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Djokovic – to hold top spot in the ATP rankings in over 18 years. 

He will be able to keep playing under a neutral banner, but the new restrictions mean Russian teams will not be able to defend their Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles later this year, while Belarus' Davis Cup play-off against Mexico - scheduled for this weekend - will not take place.

Medvedev is the first player outside men's tennis' Big Four stars to be No.1 in almost two decades

Meanwhile, the Kremlin Cup, a joint WTA and ATP tournament due to be held in Moscow in October, has been suspended.

A joint statement from the 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.

"The international governing bodies of tennis stand united in our condemnation of Russia's actions."

On Svitolina's previous stance, the Ukrainian revealed she felt tennis' governing bodies were not doing enough to support her home nation and sanction Russia and Belarus.

"In the tennis community, more should have been done," she said. "Today is already six days that serious and horrible things are happening in Ukraine.

"That's why I decided to make a move because I didn't feel enough support from our tennis community. As Ukrainians, we couldn't sit silent anymore in feeling so much pain."

Potapova, 20, put out her own response on Instagram on Monday, saying: "Unfortunately, now we, professional athletes, are becoming hostages of the current situation.

"I'm sorry, but even though I am a stranger to politics, I am against grief, tears and war."