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TennisSabalenka says Russia’s Wimbledon ban was pointless
The Belarusian world No 5 felt that the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players from Wimbledon last year was for nothing.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the British Tennis Federation (LTA) had come under pressure from the government to impose a ban. Russian and Belarus players, including Aryna Sabalenka, were eventually kicked out of Wimbledon. In the followingmath, the ATP and WTA, which govern the men’s and women’s circuits, replied that the Grand Slam tournament would not earn points in the standings.
“I’m just really disappointed that sport is getting political in one way or another. We are just athletes practicing their sport. That’s all. We do not play politics,” she told the Melbourne Age newspaper on the sidelines of the Adelaide tournament. “If we might all do something we would do it, but we have no control,” said the 24-year-old. “They banned us from Wimbledon, and what difference did that make? Nothing, they continue to make this (war), and that is what is sad in this situation”, she underlined.
The LTA has yet to announce whether the ban will be upheld for 2023. 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist Sabalenka said ‘no one supports war’ and hopes she can compete in the London Grand Slam in 2023 “to feel this atmosphere”. Other players excluded from Wimbledon last June included Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Victoria Azarenka.
(AFP)
