“We hope that Russian athletes will also be allowed to practice other sports” – figure skater Vetlugin about tennis players

Figure skater Matvey Vetlugine in an interview with , he said that he considers the admission of Russian tennis players in neutral status to the 2024 Olympics to be good news, and also expressed the hope that in the future there will have relaxations for representatives of other sports.

At the moment, Russians and Belarusians are not allowed to compete under the auspices of the International Skating Union (ISU). Previously, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) decided to admit athletes from Russia and Belarus to the Paris Olympics with a neutral status. The Paris Summer Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11.

— Recently, Russian tennis players were allowed to participate in the Paris Olympics, including even their team. Is this progress? Maybe figure skaters will be allowed to compete in the 2026 Milan Olympics?

— In general, the subject was not discussed among those around me. But this cannot be considered a bad sign. Of course, this is good news. We hope this will allow Russian athletes to practice other sports.

— Did you manage to communicate with Kamila Valieva? Did you support her in this sensational story?

— I was not able to speak to Camila personally and I did not write to her. In general, we didn’t have a close relationship to talk to each other about anything. But I have already expressed that I personally support her and the entire team that competed with her at the Olympics,” Vetlugin told .