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'I hope I live to reach 100': World's oldest tennis player staying put in Ukraine war zone

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The world's oldest tennis player Ukrainian Leonid Stanislavskyi, 97, practices on court in Kharkiv, Ukraine July 7, 2021. REUTERS

Four months after 97-year-old amateur Leonid Stanislavskyi's dreams came true when he played with 21-times Grand Slam champion Rafa Nadal, the Ukrainian is enduring his worst nightmare in Kharkiv as Russian forces bomb the city.

Stanislavskyi, who holds the Guinness World Record as the world's oldest tennis player, also had dreams of playing Swiss great Roger Federer but now he has only one simple wish -- survival.

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