Russian tennis players were among the few of our athletes who were allowed to participate in the Olympics in Paris. And the only ones who managed to win a medal. Mirra Andreeva and Diana Schneider won silver under a neutral flag. However, not everyone in the West shares the position of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Three years ago, a brave American challenged the official position of sports authorities.

Russian final

The tennis tournament at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was held, one might say, under the neutral flag of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). In the overall standings, our athletes were the best. Karen Khachanov came in second in the men’s singles, losing, by the way, to the Russian German Alexander Zverev.

Among women, Russian tennis players, alas, did not make it to the podium. But in the mixed doubles, the situation was simply ideal. Two Russian tandems reached the final: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/Andrey Rublev and Elena Vesnina/Aslan Karatsev. This arrangement only loosened up the tennis players, although certain nerves were still present.

— I can say for sure that it made our task a little easier. Firstly, both teams reached the final, we definitely have a medal. So we prepared ourselves as if it were a very important match. No one put pressure on themselves, although there was still pressure. I think all the guys and I felt responsibility and excitement, there was some nervousness. But still, playing in the final of the Olympic Games is incredible stress. I have never experienced such stress in my life. But this is some kind of incredible sporting pleasure, because you have reached the final stage, you are here, — Vesnina recalled in a conversation with Eurosport.

Elena Vesnina / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Pesnya

Elena and her partner eventually lost, and the girl couldn’t even hold back her tears after the match. The tournament ended not only with a tense fight on the court, but also with a small kerfuffle on social networks. During the match, a well-known American journalist posted a message on his page for which he was harshly criticized.

“They are Russians”

Commenting on the developments in the match on his social networks, The New York Times journalist Ben Rothenberg took a flagrant liberty! He used the Russian flag emoji next to the names of our tennis players. Many subscribers were unhappy with the behavior of the columnist. They say, the IOC prohibits Russians from competing under their colors, so you can’t either!

However, many supported Rotenberg, because it was he who had common sense in this situation. Ben gave a worthy response to his hypocritical compatriots.

“I am not the International Olympic Committee. They are Russians, competing together because they are Russians. This is Russia,” the journalist wrote.

Rotenberg did not remove the flag from the publication, although many demanded it. Indeed, what difference does it make what colors to compete in if everyone knows what country the athlete is from? And what is the point of all these bans then? Rotenberg’s publication highlighted an important question to which international sports officials still do not have a normal answer.