The U.S. Open will allow tennis players from Russia and Belarus to compete this year despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, which led to Wimbledon banning such athletes.
U.S. Tennis Association CEO and CEO Lew Sherr, whose group runs the U.S. Open, said Tuesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the board of the USTA decided to let Russians and Belarusians enter the tournament because of “the concern to keep individual athletes.” responsible for the actions and decisions of their governments ”.
Sherr said athletes from Russia and Belarus will play at Flushing Meadows under a neutral flag, a deal that has been used in several tennis tournaments around the world, including the French Open, which ended on June 5. .
The U.S. Open kicks off on August 29 in New York.
Since Russia began its attacks on Ukraine in February, Russian athletes have not been able to participate in many sports, including the World Cup qualifying playoffs. Belarus has helped Russia in the war.
Russia also hosted two international tennis team events in which it was the reigning champion: the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup.
The All England Club, where the main Wimbledon game will start on June 27, announced in April that it would ban all Russians and Belarusians from their camps, which means that the current male number 1, Russian Daniil Medvedev, is not eligible to participate. Medvedev is the reigning champion of the United States Open.
The Wimbledon sanction provoked immediate criticism from the WTA and the ATP, along with some prominent players, such as defender Novak Djokovic.
In May, the WTA and ATP said they would not award any ranking points for Wimbledon this year, an unprecedented disapproval of the All England Club. Some players, including four-time senior champion and former No. 1 Naomi Osaka, said they would consider leaving Wimbledon.
The ATP has said that all points won at Wimbledon in 2021 will fall from a player’s record and no new points will be scored this year. The WTA has not decided exactly how the points in last year’s All England Club ranking will be treated, but no new points can be added based on a player’s performance there this time.
“The WTA appreciates and supports the (USTA) decision, which reflects the fundamental principle that all players have the same opportunities to compete on merit and without discrimination,” said Steve Simon, CEO of WTA, and added that his tour hopes to work with the WTA. USTA to provide “additional relief efforts for Ukraine.”
Sherr told the AP that what happened to Wimbledon, both the All England Club’s move to keep players out of certain countries and the reaction of the tourers, had no role in the ‘USTA to let in Russian and Belarusian players.
“Our discussion was really about the merits and really the principles around both sides of this argument. This was not a business issue versus an ethical issue,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. Are you perceived as a supporter of atrocious acts by a government? And at the same time, would you blame an individual athlete for this?
Sherr said the WTA and ATP professional tours organized a series of talks with athletes from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus and various tennis governing bodies, and that those responsible for both tours addressed the USTA board before its decision.
USTA plans to provide additional financial assistance for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and will use the US Open as a platform to raise awareness about the war.
“This is a horrible situation and we, along with the rest of tennis, absolutely condemn what is an unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and it all comes in this context,” Sherr said. “No matter how difficult some of these decisions may be, none of this is tantamount to the difficulties that are being experienced in Ukraine at the moment, and to the tragedies and atrocities.”
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