Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland supported the decision of the organizers of Wimbledon-2022 to remove Russian and Belarusian tennis players from participation in the tournament.
The organizers of one of the most prestigious Grand Slam tournaments have taken this decision against the backdrop of a full-scale war that Russia has unleashed against Ukraine.
However, the ATP and WTA condemned the ban on Russian and Belarusian tennis players from playing at Wimbledon-2022. The head of the WTA, Steve Simon, threatened the organizers of Wimbledon with a fine and severe sanctions.
Now, the Scandinavian tennis federations have publicly supported the ban on tennis players from the Russian Federation and Belarus from participating in the tournament. The Norwegian Tennis Federation has issued a statement signed by the federations of Finland, Sweden and Iceland.
“The All England Tennis Club has taken the courageous decision to exclude all Russian and Belarusian players from Wimbledon and major UK grass tournaments. The Norwegian Tennis Federation supports this decision and hopes the ATP, WTA and ITF will respond in the same way.
Sanctions against athletes are not an easy decision. Despite this, the consequences cannot be compared with what people in Ukraine go through every day. Tough measures must be taken to stop this senseless war. In these rare times, tennis must do everything to stand by the people of Ukraine against the enmity from Russia and Belarus,” the statement said.
It should be noted that Wimbledon-2022 became the first international tennis tournament that banned Russians and Belarusians from participating in individual competitions. After that, it was reported that the tournament in Rome may also prevent players from Russia and Belarus from participating .
Wimbledon 2022 is scheduled to take place from June 27 to July 10 in the London suburb of Wimbledon.
Recall that at the WTA and ATP tournaments, Russian and Belarusian tennis players play in a neutral status. Now Ukrainian tennis players, including the first racket of our country, Elina Svitolina, are demanding the complete removal of players from the Russian Federation and Belarus , who have not publicly spoken out against the war in Ukraine.
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