CNN
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Every game in Europe – from Football To fencing UFC – Has had to struggle with the collapse of Russia’s attack on Ukraine And Tennis There is no exception.
Since the onset of the war, Russian and Belarusian players have continued to play at the tournament and the Grand Slam, but should do so as neutrals without their flag or country.
The only exception has been WimbledonThe ATP and WTA tourism responded by snatching the ranking points of the tournament last year – which banned players from those two countries last year.
The governing body of both men and women tourism Said They oppose “discrimination” against players on the basis of nationality.
Wimbledon, which rejected This ban was discriminatory, since then said It will accept entries from Russia and Belarusis This year, as long as the players compete as neutral and do not express support for the war.
Players who receive funds from Russian or Belarusian states will also not be allowed to compete, including those who receive sponsorship from or controlled companies operated by those states.
In April, the organizers of Wimbledon said they would cover the cost of two rooms for all the main draws and qualify the players from Ukraine for the entirety of the Grass Court season – a step that was praised by a Russian player Daria kasatkina,
According to the BBC, “(Ukrainian player) cannot go back home, they always have to stay on the street and pay for housing all the time, so I think it matters a lot.”
For some Ukrainian players, facing opponents from Russia and Belarus has been a point of disappointment.
World number 39 Marta CostuxWho is from Kiv, said at the beginning of the year that she would not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players, while the war in her country increases.
When he refused to meet Aryana Sabalenka in Belarus on the net, he was instigated in the French open, while Sabalenka condemned the boo and said that she understands why Ukrainian players would not shake their hands.
“Regarding the situation of war, I said many times, many times, no one in this world supports the athlete, Belarusi athlete-war, none,” Sabalenka said after her first win against Costukuk. “How can we support war? Normal people will never support it.”
Ukrainian player Lesia Tsurenco has also refused to join hands with Russian and Belarusi opponents after matches.
He withdrew from his third round competition against Sabalenka in Indian Wales in March for “personal reasons”-inspiring calls for more support for Ukrainian players on the WWTA tour.
“Honestly, I respect Ukrainian girls very much, because if a bomb landed in my country or if my house was destroyed, I don’t know if I can handle it,” said World No. 1. IGA świątek Shortly after the return of Tsurenco from the tournament, Russia’s World No. 2 Daniel Medvedev said he “feels regretted for all Ukrainian players and what they do.”
At that time, the WTA Tour said that “it continuously reflects our full support for Ukraine and strongly condemns the work brought out by the Russian government.”
After his first round win at the French Open, Tsurenco, who was born in Vladimirek and Kiev went as a teenager, spoke his grief since the onset of the war.
“Yesterday, a part of a rocket landed at a distance of 100 meters from my house,” he told reporters. “It can make me sad, you know, and perhaps, my face is not just super happy because I go to the locker room and I am spreading hatred towards someone.”
Tsurenko appeared Allude for comments Sabalenka built at the Miami Open in March, in which World No. 2 said that she struggled to understand the “hatred” in the locker room amidst stressful relations with some players after the Russia invasion.
Several players, including Poland’s świątek, Slovakia’s Anna-Karolin Shedlova and Elina Switolina of Ukraine, have worn Ukraine’s blue and yellow colors in the tournament.
Former World No. 3 and Ukraine’s most decorated player Switolina donated his victory from Interniex Day Strasburg in May for humanitarian aid for children in his country, and is also part of that too Reconstruction of Ukraine ProgramWhich raises funds to restore the damaged residential buildings in the war.
The 28 -year -old stopped playing soon after the Russian invasion and returned to competitive tennis earlier this year after his first child’s birth.
When asked about the incident after the match between Costux and Sabalenka, Switolina told reporters that “very nonsense” is getting distracted by the main point of what is going on. ”
He said: “A lot of Ukrainians require help and support and we are focusing on so many things, such as empty words, empty things that are not helping in the situation.”
The presence of Russian flags and symbols in the tennis tournament has been a source of stress.
WTA “formally warned” Russian player Anastasia potapova This year, to wear a Spartak Moscow Football Jersey before a match in Indian Wales this year, it is called “not acceptable nor a suitable action”.
Two months ago at the Australian Open, the organizers banned the Russian and Belarusian flag from Melbourne Park, when some fans displayed the Russian flag in matches.
Shrijan DjokovicAustralian Open champion Novak Djokovic’s father, under investigation in the tournament when he posed for a photo with a man wearing a “Z” symbol on his shirt and took a Russian flag with the face of President Vladimir Putin.
The “Z” symbol is seen as a sign of Russia’s support, including an invasion of Ukraine. It has been seen on Russian equipment and clothing in Ukraine.
The 20 -year -old Costux is probably the most vocal player about Russia’s invasion in his country. Last year, that Told CNN Sport That Russian and Belarusian players have the responsibility of taking a stand against the war.
“Everyone has an option to make,” said Costux. “There is a group of tennis players who have resources to take their family out of the country (Russia). And yet they are not doing so. I don’t know why.”
