Leonid Stanislavski actually wanted to hold out in his hometown of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine until the Russian invaders stopped shelling, ended their war and he could pursue his hobby in peace again.
The 98-year-old Ukrainian told the Reuters news agency as the war entered its third week that he was hard of hearing and often didn't even notice when the bombs were falling and the alarm sirens were howling.
Thomas Klemm
sports editor.
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In addition, "the refrigerator is full".
Now Stanislawski, who is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest tennis player in the world, has fled.
His daughter Tanya, who rushed to Poland, brought the tennis senior from the embattled Kharkov to her home.
As soon as he arrived, Stanislavski grabbed his racket and, just for fun, measured himself against a prominent tennis pro.
Rally with Radwanska
In a hall in the eastern Polish city of Lublin, he fought rallies with Agnieszka Radwanska, two generations younger and former world number two.
She admires his will to live and his fitness in old age, said the 33-year-old Pole after the game at the weekend in a video that circulated on social networks.
Stanislavski, who worked as an engineer for the Soviet Air Force during World War II, said he could never have imagined having to experience another terrible war in the 21st century.
Two hours' drive from the war, Stanislawski made his next big plans in Poland.
He has already played with some tennis greats - like Rafael Nadal in Mallorca last autumn - and now he would like to hit balls with Roger Federer and the new world number one Iga Swiatek.
Most importantly, the Ukrainian, who started playing tennis at the age of 30, wants to take part in the Senior Tennis World Championships, which start in Florida in three and a half weeks.
In Palm Beach, the war would be a little further away.