Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has slammed Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players saying its “crazy”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its atrocities, the Wimbledon Organisers made the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from its tournament.
Novak Djokovic has slammed the rules as ‘crazy’.
“I will always condemn war, I will never support war being myself a child of war…As a child of war, I know what kind of emotional trauma a war leaves. Us in Serbia we know what was happening here in 1999, ordinary people always suffer – we’ve had lots of wars in the Balkans.
However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good.”
Novak djokovic
The Serbian endured his own experience of war when he was just 11-years-old.
Wimbledon has been quick to defend its motion though, moving in line with other Governments, sporting, and industries to condemn Russia’s actions.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club runs the Wimbledon Tournament and is standing firm on its decision, announcing it has also scrapped its broadcast deal with Russia.
This means the people of Russia will be unable to watch the tournament.
“Given the profile of the Championships in the United Kingdom and around the world, it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of Government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible,”
“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships.
“It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022,”
All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC)
Ukrainian tennis players Elina Monfils and Lesia Tsurenko have also responded to the ban, praising solidarity with Ukraine.
However, the Kremlin continues to criticise bans on its athletes in global sports calling them “unacceptable”.
The ban is the first of its kind in an elite tennis event and the ban will include world number two Daniil Medvedev.
The ATP and WTA bosses have also slammed the move by Wimbledon, saying it’s unfair and discriminatory.
“We believe that today’s unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the LTA to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year’s British grass-court swing is unfair and has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game,” an ATP statement said.
“Discrimination based on nationality also constitutes a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon that states that player entry is based solely on ATP Rankings.
“Our sport is proud to operate on the fundamental principles of merit and fairness, where players compete as individuals to earn their place in tournaments based on the ATP Rankings.”
Atp statement
I feel like Ukraine would be better served if @Wimbledon donated their entire profit in support aid instead of banning the Russian and Belarusian players.
