The exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s Wimbledon tournament has been met with criticism by two of the world’s top players - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Both men criticized the All England Club on Sunday saying the decision to exclude players from Russia and Belarus was unfair.
“I’m sorry for them,” Nadal said. “Wimbledon just took their decision. The government didn’t force them to do it.”
“It’s not their fault what’s happening in this moment with the war,” said Nadal in Madrid, where both he and Djokovic are playing in this week’s Madrid Open.
Both professional tennis tours - the WTA and the ATP also voiced their concern over Wimbledon’s decision to ban both countries.
Several prominent players from Russia, including U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev along with Andrey Rublev, and French Open runner-up Ana Pavlyuchenkova will be affected by the decision.
Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Grand Slam champion, and Aryna Sabalenka, will also be barred from participating in the tournament.
In January, at the Australian Open, Djokovic was forced to leave the country after his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The world’s number one player compared the ban to the penalty he faced.
“It’s not the same thing, but going through something similar earlier this year for myself, it’s frustrating knowing that you’re not able to play,” Djokovic said. “I still stand by my position that I don’t support the [Wimbledon] decision. I think it’s just not fair, it’s not right, but it is what it is.”
The All England Club defended its ruling in a statement on Twitter.
“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.”
The Wimbledon Championship is set to begin on June 27. As events in Ukraine are changing daily, decisions on eligible entries may change.
Nadal was hopeful for an amicable resolution. “Let’s see what happens in the next weeks, if the players will take some kind of decision in [this] regard.”
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
