Ukrainian tennis player says Russians vocally against invasion should be allowed at Wimbledon

A Ukrainian tennis player said in an interview aired on Thursday that Russians and Belarusians who publicly condemn the invasion of Ukraine should be allowed to play at Wimbledon.

“Yes, I think this is the right thing, I think this is the right thing to do,” Elina Svitolina told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast when asked if Wimbledon should make an exemption for Russian and Belarusian players who vocally opposed the conflict.

“Because if, for example, they didn’t choose … they didn’t vote for this government, then it’s fair that they will be allowed to play and compete,” she added.

The Ukrainian tennis player’s remarks come as Wimbledon announced on Wednesday it would be barring Belarusian and Russian players from competing in the English Grand Slam amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in which officials have accused Belarus of being complicit.

Svitolina shared a statement over social media on Wednesday which asked the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), ATP Tour and International Tennis Federation (ITF) to press Russian and Belarusian tennis players for their stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and about whether they supported the governments of Russia or Belarus.

“If applicable, we demand to exclude and ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in any international event, as Wimbledon already done,” the statement said. “There comes a time when silence is betrayal, and that time is now.”

Svitolina told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast that Ukrainian tennis players were not personally against any tennis players in particular, “we are against the government.”

“We share the tennis court, we share everything together. So we want to know that we’re against this, because for now, this is really unknown for us,” Svitolina said. 

“This is a horrible … thing that’s happening right now to Ukrainian people. And you know, there is … all black or all white in this situation. So, for me, the Russian and Belarusian players have to speak up and choose their side.”

Top men’s tennis star Novak Djokovic, who is Serbian, criticized the move by Wimbledon to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing, calling it “crazy” and adding “when politics interferes with sport, the result is not good.”

Russian player Andrey Rublev, who ranks eighth in the world in men’s tennis, also denounced the move, saying it was “illogical” and “complete discrimination,” according to the BBC.

In the first few days of the war, Rublev made headlines after winning a match and signing a camera lens with the words “no war please” in protest of Russia’s invasion.