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SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, Belarussians
Ukrainian Tennis Star Elina Svitolina Refuses To Play Russian Opponent, Russian Opponent Responds The highest-ranked Ukrainian tennis player in the world, Elina Svitolina, announced today that due to the Russian invasion of her country, she would not play a “match against Russian or Belarussian [sic] tennis players until our organizations take this necessary decision.” That decision, she said, should be for the ATP, WTA and ITF to treat Russian players as the IOC does, as “neutral athletes, without displaying any national symbols, colours, flags or anthems.” Svitolina is currently ranked 15th in the world. Her first-round opponent in the Abierto GNP Seguros WTA event in Monterrey, Mexico today was to be Anastasia Potapova, who is Russian. Potapova responded shortly thereafter saying: “Even when I was a kid, I dreamed of playing tennis without choosing a match, a country or a partner in the game…for me there is no opponent from any country, I am fighting for victory, my best game, my best result…Unfortunately, now we, professional athletes, are essentially becoming hostages to the current situation…I am against grief, tears and war.” It wasn’t just players taking action. Earlier in the day, the 38-year-old secretary of the Ukraine Tennis Federation, Evgeniy Zukin, slapped Tennis Europe chief executive Thomas Hammerl after an argument over what the Ukrainian described as a “disgracefully weak” statement from Tennis Europe regarding the conflict. While the statement announced the suspension of junior events in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine and urged “the international tennis community to show solidarity to players from the nations concerned,” it did not explicitly condemn the invasion. Zukin told Telegraph Sport of the incident at a Tennis Europe board event, “I read the statement, finished my dinner, stood up, turned around, saw him [Hammerl] sitting five tables near me, and asked him ‘How come you could do this?’ He said, ‘Go away.’ I gave him a light slap and walked away.”
Re: SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, BelarussiansThe international governing bodies of tennis stand united in our condemnation of Russia’s actions and, as a result, are in agreement with the following decisions and actions:
Re: SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, BelarussiansYes, yes we should all stand together to support Neo Nazis.
Re: SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, BelarussiansUkrainian-born tennis player Eva Lys accuses Russian players of 'making fun' of war: 'They laugh about it' Ukrainian-born tennis player Eva Lys has accused some Russian players of mocking the war in Ukraine but argued that, while she supports the decision to ban Russian teams from international competition, individuals should not be excluded from tournaments. The 20-year-old prospect, who was born in Kyiv and moved to Germany, told Eurosport in an interview on Wednesday that she felt Russian players had acted disrespectfully at ITF Kazakhstan 02A this week. "Many Russian players who are here show disrespect to those affected by the Ukraine war. They laugh about it, make fun of it. Some are demonstratively putting on tracksuits in the Russian national colors," she said, via The Telegraph's translation. Lys chose to show her support for her home country by wearing the colors of her flag during competition, something she said was looked down on. "There were no verbal reactions to my outfit," she told German newspaper Bild, "but you could feel the looks. The air is very thick." While several international sports federations have moved to ban Russia and Belarus from competitions, players themselves in some sports have also been banned. Lys believes the two should not be grouped together. "Tennis professionals don't embody a country in the same way that national teams do," she said, via The Telegraph. "So I think it's right to ban Russian teams to send a crystal clear message. And I think it's good that you take out flags or the reference to Russia in tennis, but let the individual professionals play." The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced Tuesday that the Russian Tennis Federation and Belarus Tennis Federation will be indefinitely suspended from international events as a result of the widespread attacks on Ukraine. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) followed suit, adding that the "safety of the tennis community is our most immediate collective priority."
Re: SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, BelarussiansBritish Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said Tuesday at a select committee in Parliament that aside from athletes agreeing not to represent Russia at Wimbledon, there have been discussions at possibly having competitors denounce Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to compete. Absolutely, nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed or enabled," he told the committee, via Reuters. "But I think it needs to go beyond that, I think we need to have some assurance that they are not supporters of Vladimir Putin, and we are considering what requirements we may need to get assurances along those lines." Re: SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, BelarussiansThat's sad. The players didn't attack Ukraine. Svitolina should be suspended, like the ones that refused to play against Israel players. Sharapova didn't start the war, didn't attack Ukraine, would never do such a thing. Re: SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, BelarussiansIt is not fair for the (bela)Russian players, but that is nothing compared to civilians dying. Now that is really unfair The financial interests of the individual (tennisplayer) is secondary to the life of kids… In the eighties, I remember the full boycott of South-Africans in every aspect of our society. It contributed to the eventual end of apartheid. the sport boycott alone will not make Putin stop, but the culmination of a lot of measures will create a feeling of discontent in Russian society that may end Vladimir’s tyranny in a few years. That revolution has to come from the inside, and creating an unhappy population is essential to get there. Taking away their sport idols is part of it. I am a big fan of a Kasatkina and Pavs, but for me they should be banned. Bad for them, but hey, who said life is fair? Ask ukranians whether life is fair… "Never argue with an idiot - they take you down to their level and then beat you on experience" "Don't wrestle with a pig: you both get dirty, but the pig actually likes it" Re: SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, BelarussiansI don't recall American players being banned or Force to denounce their government because of the Iraqi invasion. There is no revolution , the only thing the world is united in is their own self interest. Re: SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, BelarussiansYes, in my opinion, it was a mistake not to ban US and UK players when those countries started an illegal war. We made that mistake 20 years ago, let us not repeat it again. Ban NOW. As for self-interest: you have easy talkin* on your continent, far far away. I used googlemaps, and it would take me less than 15 hours to drive to the border of Poland/Ukraine. When it happens that close to you, you indeed try to stop Russia out of self-interest. "Never argue with an idiot - they take you down to their level and then beat you on experience" "Don't wrestle with a pig: you both get dirty, but the pig actually likes it"
Re: SVITOLINA Refuses to Play Russians, BelarussiansRussian/Belarussian players officially banned from Wimbledon. |