cnn
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Every sport in Europe – from football to fencing to the UFC – has had to deal with the fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and tennis is no exception.
Since the start of the war, Russian and Belarusian players have continued to play in tournaments and Grand Slams, but they must do so as neutrals without showing their flag or country.
The only exception has been Wimbledon, which banned players from those two countries last year, although the ATP and WTA responded by stripping the tournament of ranking points.
The governing bodies of the men's and women's tours said they oppose “discrimination” against players on the basis of nationality.
Wimbledon, which denied its ban was discriminatory, has since said it will accept entries from Russians and Belarusians this year, as long as the players compete as neutrals and do not express support for the war.
Players who receive funding from the Russian or Belarusian states will also not be able to compete, including those who receive sponsorship from companies operated or controlled by those states.
In April, Wimbledon organizers said they would cover the cost of two rooms for all Ukrainian main draw and qualifying players throughout the grass-court season, a move that was praised by Russian player Daria Kasatkina.
“[Ukrainian players] “They can't go home, they always have to be on the road 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, having to face opponents from Russia and Belarus has been a source of frustration.
Marta Kostyuk, world number 39 and originally from kyiv, said earlier this year that she would not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players while war raged in her country.
She was booed at the French Open when she refused to meet Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka at the net, while Sabalenka condemned the booing and said she understands why Ukrainian players won't shake her hand.
“About the war situation, I said many, many times, no one in this world (Russian athletes, Belarusian athletes) supports war, no one,” Sabalenka said after her first-round victory against Kostyuk. “How can we support the war? “Normal people will never support him.”
Ukrainian player Lesia Tsurenko also refused to shake hands with her Russian and Belarusian rivals after matches.
She withdrew from her third-round match against Sabalenka in Indian Wells in March for “personal reasons,” prompting calls for more support for Ukrainian players on the WTA Tour.
“Honestly, I respect Ukrainian girls a lot because if a bomb fell in my country or my house was destroyed, I don't know if I could handle it,” world number one Iga Świątek said shortly after Tsurenko's withdrawal. tournament was announced, while Russia's world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev said he “feels[s] “I feel sorry for all the Ukrainian players and what they go through.”
At the time, the WTA Tour said it “has consistently reflected our full support for Ukraine and strongly condemns the actions taken by the Russian government.”
After his first-round victory at the French Open, Tsurenko, who was born in Vladimirec and moved to kyiv as a teenager, spoke of his sadness since the start of the war.
“Yesterday, part of a rocket fell 100 meters from my house,” he told reporters. “This can make me unhappy, you know, and my face probably won't be very happy just because of that. Not because I go into the locker room and I'm sowing hatred towards someone.”
Tsurenko appeared to allude to comments Sabalenka made at the Miami Open in March, in which the world No. 2 said she struggled to understand the “hatred” she encountered in the locker room amid strained relations with some players following the invasion. Russian.
Several players, including Poland's Świątek, Slovakia's Anna-Karolína Schmiedlová and Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, have worn the blue and yellow colors of Ukraine in tournaments.
Svitolina, former world number 3 and Ukraine's most decorated player, donated her winnings from the Strasbourg Internationaux in May to humanitarian aid for children in her home country, and is also part of the Rebuild Ukraine program, which raises funds to restore Residential buildings damaged in the war.
The 28-year-old stopped playing shortly after the Russian invasion and returned to competitive tennis earlier this year, following the birth of her first child.
When asked about the post-match incident between Kostyuk and Sabalenka, Svitolina told reporters that there is “a lot of nonsense” going on that distracts from the “main point of what is happening.”
He added: “Many Ukrainians need help and support and we are focusing on many things, like empty words, empty things that do not help the situation.”
The presence of Russian flags and symbols in tennis tournaments has been a source of tension.
The WTA has “formally warned” Russian player Anastasia Potapova for wearing a Spartak Moscow soccer jersey before a match in Indian Wells this year, calling it a “neither acceptable nor appropriate action.”
At the Australian Open two months earlier, organizers banned the Russian and Belarusian flags from Melbourne Park after some fans had displayed the Russian flag at matches.
Srdjan Djokovic, father of Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, came under scrutiny at the tournament when he posed for photographs with a man wearing the “Z” symbol on his shirt and carrying a Russian flag with President Vladimir Putin's face on it. .
The “Z” symbol is considered a sign of support for Russia, including its invasion of Ukraine. It has been seen on Russian equipment and clothing in Ukraine.
Kostyuk, 20, is perhaps the most outspoken player about the Russian invasion of her country. Last year, she told CNN Sport that Russian and Belarusian players have a responsibility to take an anti-war stance.
“Everyone has to make a decision,” Kostyuk said. “There are a lot of tennis players who have the resources to get their family out of the country.” [Russia]. And yet they are not doing it. Because? I don't know.”
