Russians and Belarusians will be able to continue participating in circus tournaments, including the Grand Slam, but are excluded from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, world tennis authorities announced on Tuesday.
Daniil Medvedev, the brand new world N.1, Andrey Rublev (N.6), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (N.14) or the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (N.3), can therefore continue to line up in tournaments, starting from this. of the Indian Wells in California, starting March 10, followed by the Grand Slam, Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.
“However, until recently, they will not participate (in these competitions) under the flag of Russia and Belarus”, the joint announcement of the organizations continues.
Russia, on the other hand, will not be able to defend their Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup titles in these 2021 qualifiers.
Among these athletes, Rublev and Pavlyuchenkova expressed their rejection of the war caused by the invasion of Ukraine by their country’s army.
The ATP and the WTA also announced the cancellation of the Moscow tournament, which was scheduled for October.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday proposed banning Russians from participating in sporting events or, at the very least, preventing them from flying their country’s banner.
Committed to the Monterey tournament in Mexico, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina refused to face Russia’s Anastasia Potapova in the first round on Monday.
He had warned that he would retain this position until the tennis authorities decided to accept “Russian or Belarusian nationals only as neutral athletes”.
