A talented Ukrainian tennis player, at only 11-years-old, isn't letting the conflict in her home country stop her from achieving her dreams.
For more, stream KCBS Radio now.
The preteen fled with her family from Ukraine and arrived in the Bay Area over the weekend, according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle, with her mother and brother George, 18.
Ira Shostakovich has trained and competed as a tennis player since she was 5-years-old, according to the paper.
While she and her family are staying with relatives in Novato, she plans to resume her training in full, the paper reported, as she hopes to be a professional tennis player one day.
Already the tennis star has gotten a start, finding some tennis courts nearby where they are staying, and receiving an outpouring of support from others on social media.
A family friend posted on Twitter on Monday asking for suggestions on how to resume Ira’s training, and a stream of responses soon came pouring in, the paper reported, attracting even professional players of the sport.
"I definitely didn't expect to have tennis pros (direct-messaging) and calling me," said Lee Edwards, the family friend and original poster told the paper. "I’m not a tennis fan, so I had to Google the names. They are top, top names," such as Andy Roddick and associates of Rajiv Ram, the paper reported.
A fellow Ukrainian and now retired tennis pro, Yulia Beygelzimer, who is from Dnipro, the same hometown as Ira, is also working on ways to help out, said the paper.
The offers of help from the tennis community have bolstered the family's spirits after a long and arduous journey escaping from their war-torn home country.
"I'm not a sports fan at all, so I was really surprised to see how they recognized one of their own and swooped in to help," Edwards told the paper.
"It's really cool," Ira said, translated by her brother, to the paper. "I want to say thank you to all the people helping to make my dream. I hope I will soon play some tennis."
LISTEN to KCBS Radio
FAVORITE KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Related
