CNN
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Every game in Europe – from Football To put up a fence The UFC – had to be dealt with as a result Russia invades Ukraine And Tennis There is no exception.
Since the start of the war, Russian and Belarusian players have continued to play in tournaments and Grand Slams but must do so as neutrals without displaying their flag or country.
The only exception has been Wimbledonwhich banned players from those two countries last year – although the ATP and WTA Tours responded by stripping the tournament of ranking points.
Governing bodies of both men’s and women’s tours said that they oppose “discrimination” against players based on nationality;
Wimbledon, Jo Refused That his ban was discriminatory has since been said. It will accept entries from Russians and Belarusians. This year, unless the players compete as neutrals and express support for the war.
Athletes receiving funding from the Russian or Belarusian states will also not be allowed to compete, including those receiving sponsorship from companies managed or controlled by those states.
In April Wimbledon organizers said they would cover the cost of two rooms for all main draw and Ukrainian qualifying players for the entire grass court season – a move praised by the Russian player. Daria Kasatkina.
“[Ukrainian players] “They can’t go back home, they always have to be on the street and they have to pay for accommodation all the time, so I think it makes a lot of sense,” Kasatkina said, according to the BBC.
For some Ukrainian players, facing opponents from Russia and Belarus has been a source of frustration.
World number 39 Marta KostyukThe Kiev native said earlier this year that she would not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players while her country was at war.
She was humiliated at the French Open when she refused to meet Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka at the net, while Sabalenka condemned the bong and said she understood why Ukrainian players would not shake her hand.
“About the war situation, I told him many times, nobody in this world – Russian athletes, Belarusian athletes – supports the war. No, no one does,” Sabalenka said after her first-round victory over Kostyuk. “How can we support war? Ordinary people will never support it.
Ukrainian player Lesya Tsurenko has also refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian rivals after the matches.
She withdrew from her third-round match against Sabalenka at Indian Wells in March for “personal reasons” – prompting calls for more support for Ukrainian players on the WTA Tour.
“Honestly, I respect the Ukrainian girls a lot because, if a bomb falls in my country or my house is destroyed, I don’t know if I can handle it,” said the world No.1. ” Iga Świątek Tsurenko’s withdrawal from the tournament was announced soon after, while Russian world no Daniel Medvedev said he “feels.[s] Sorry to all the Ukrainian players and those who are going through.
At the time, the WTA Tour said it “continues to reflect our full support for Ukraine and strongly condemns the actions taken by the Russian government.”
After her first-round victory at the French Open, Tsurenko, who was born in Vladimirek and moved to Kiev as a teenager, spoke of her sadness since the start of the war.
“Yesterday, part of a rocket fell 100 meters from my house,” he told reporters. is Not because I go into the locker room and I’m spreading hate against anybody.”
Tsurenko appeared Point to comments Sabalenka did at the Miami Open in March, with the world No. 2 saying she was struggling to understand the “hate” in the locker room amid strained relations with some players following the Russia attack.
Several players, including Poland’s Świątek, Slovakia’s Anna-Karolína Schmiedlová and Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, have worn Ukraine’s blue and yellow colors at the tournament.
Svitolina, a former world No. 3 and Ukraine’s most decorated player, donated her winnings at the Internationale Aux de Strasbourg in May to humanitarian aid for children in her home country, and she is also part of the cause. . Reconstruction of Ukraine programwhich collects funds for the rehabilitation of residential buildings destroyed in the war.
The 28-year-old stopped playing shortly after the Russian attack and returned to competitive tennis earlier this year after giving birth to her first child.
When asked about the post-match incident between Kostyuk and Sabalenka, Svitolina told reporters that there was “a lot of rubbish” going on that distracted from “the main point of what was going on”.
He added: “A lot of Ukrainian people need help and support and we are focusing on a lot of things, like empty words, empty things that are not helping the situation.”
The presence of Russian flags and symbols at tennis tournaments has been a source of tension.
The WTA “officially warned” the Russian player. Anastasia Potapova Wearing a Spartak Moscow football jersey ahead of this year’s match in Indian Wells, calling it “an unacceptable and inappropriate move”.
Two months earlier at the Australian Open, organizers banned Russian and Belarusian flags from Melbourne Park after some fans waved Russian flags during matches. was shown.
Srijan DjokovicFather of Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, He came under fire at the tournament when he wore a “Z” on his shirt and posed with a man holding a Russian flag with President Vladimir Putin’s face on it.
The “Z” symbol is seen as a sign of support for Russia, including its invasion of Ukraine. It has been seen on Russian goods and clothing in Ukraine.
Kostyuk, 20, is perhaps the most outspoken player regarding Russia’s invasion of her country. Last year, he told CNN Sport That Russian and Belarusian players have a responsibility to take a stand against the war.
“Everybody has a choice to make,” Kostyuk said. “There’s a group of tennis players who have the means to move their families out of the country. [Russia]. And yet they are not doing it. Why? I don’t know.”