“Many are surprised that no one refused to play against ours. Even Ukrainians are playing with us” – Tarpishchev

President of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpishchev explained to Metaratings.ru why the ATP and WTA do not remove Russian tennis players from competitions under their auspices.

– Why do the ATP and WTA protect Russian athletes, unlike other international sports federations?

“They just follow the rules, which they themselves approved much earlier. It probably surprises a lot of people why in tennis no one refused to play ours in tough times, and everyone is friends. Even the Ukrainians play with us. One of the factors is that we have been playing against each other since childhood. We are a kind of tennis family.

But that’s how it is in a lot of sports. Talented children still play against each other at the junior level, and now only tennis has managed to save on such a large scale.

– But we are talking about individual sports, then the rules of the game arise. Professional organizations have kept us away from team sports, and the ATP and WTA watch over their system so that it allows everyone to play. But I don’t want to move on to personalities, because I will inevitably erect people who cannot be framed.

Is it a business story?

Any sport is a business. Figure skating is not a business? Or is biathlon not a business? The commercial component is important, but precisely here it is secondary.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended that international federations and leagues withdraw Russian athletes and teams from international competitions.

Russian tennis players participate in all ATP and WTA tournaments. The organizers of Wimbledon 2022 did not allow the Russians, which is why the WTA and ATP refused to award athletes points for their performances in this tournament.