Tennis players have been speaking out against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military assault on Ukraine. Andrey Rublev, a high-profile Russian tennis player, wrote “no war please” on the camera after his match. The video clip went viral, expanding well beyond the tennis circle. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, also Russian, released a statement saying personal and political ambitions did not warrant a war. She pled for peace. Sergiy Stakhovsky, a retired Ukrainian player, joined his country’s reserve army and was quoted as saying, “I pretty much hope that I will not have to use the gun, but if I have to, I’ll have to.”

Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine posted on social media that she and her sister had fled their home country for France following two nights in an underground parking area. She won her next match by the skin of her teeth, a relatively unimportant first-round match in a relatively unimportant tournament in Lyon, and called it “the hardest match of my life.” Daniil Medvedev of Russia has recently ascended to the world number one spot on the men’s side. He is the first man to obtain the ranking besides Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray since Andy Roddick held the honor in early 2004. Yet, Medvedev posted a statement on Instagram calling for peace before he acknowledged his ascent to the #1 ranking.

On Feb. 28, Marta Kostyuk, another Ukrainian player, not only called for the Women’s Tennis Association to pull their tournaments from Russia, but condemned them for their lack of a response to the war.

Despite the wide range of backgrounds and situations of the tennis players on tour, many are recognizing that peace is the best path forward, and that speaking out is preferable to staying silent.

Tennis players have reacted to the war admirably, even though there is considerable risk to the Russian players from disagreeing with Putin. Their willingness to speak out anyway is inspiring, and we should all do so well to follow their example.