The Australian Tennis Federation will allow Russians and Belarusians to play at the Australian Open

The Australian Tennis Federation (Tennis Australia) will not exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the Australian Open, informs 9News.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February 2022 recommended not allowing Russians and Belarusians to participate in international competitions. ATP and WTA allowed representatives of these two countries to participate in tournaments in a neutral status.

– Players from Russia and Belarus can only participate in international tennis tournaments individually – without flags or mention of countries, as will be the case at the 2023 Australian Open, Tennis Australia said in a statement.

“I can just follow the rules as a player. I’m happy to play for the fans. This is the only thing I can do,” said Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev.

Russians Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Aslan Karatsev and Roman Safiullin will play in the men’s draw of the Australian Open.

Russians Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Lyudmila Samsonova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Anastasia Potapova, Anna Kalinskaya, Evgenia Rodina, Anna Blinkova, Camilla Rakhimova and Varvara Gracheva will play in the women’s draw.