The boss of the circuit is not happy. World number one Novak Djokovic said Wednesday in Belgrade that he thought Wimbledon organizers’ decision to exclude Russians and Belarusians from the 2022 grass-court Major due to the war in Ukraine “was crazy “.
“I will always condemn the war, being myself a child of the war (Editor’s note: in the former Yugoslavia), but I cannot support the decision of the Wimbledon tournament, I think it is crazy,” Djokovic told the press after his first match at the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade where he dominated his compatriot Laslo Djere (2-6, 7-6, 7-6).
“Tennis players have nothing to do with what’s going on”
“Tennis players, athletes have nothing to do with what is happening. When politics interferes in sport, it is never good,” he added.
Britain’s Wimbledon tournament has become the first tennis event to drop players individually, a move heavily criticized by the ATP and WTA. Daniil Medvedev, world N.2, Andrey Rublev (8th), Aryna Sabalenka (4th and semi-finalist last year), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (15th) and Viktoria Azarenka (ex-N.1 today 18th) will therefore not be able to not defend their chances in London.
“In the circumstances of unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefit from the participation of Russian or Belarusian players,” the British Grand Slam tournament said in a statement released Wednesday. This decision could be reviewed if “circumstances change radically by June”, adds the text.