Elina urged to impose maximum sanctions on representatives of the aggressor countries
Former first racket of Ukraine Elina Svitolina hopes that the ban on participation in Wimbledon in relation to Russian and Belarusian tennis players will remain in force.
“I hope they do the same and keep the ban in place. I don’t think this should change. People are still suffering and Russian soldiers are still killing innocent Ukrainians,” Svitolina said.
Svitolina also commented on the decision of the IOC to consider the possibility of admitting Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions, including the 2024 Olympics.
“I don’t think a neutral flag changes anything. I see a lot of comments about sports being out of politics, but Russian sports are a big part of their politics. I hope we don’t have to decide on a boycott because that would be the wrong signal.”
“We should impose sanctions on Russians and Belarusians in general because of what their governments are doing. It’s my opinion. I have nothing against specific athletes. But how else can we stop this war? We should sanction people from Russia and Belarus as much as possible because their governments are doing these cruel things in Ukraine. Sanctions will stop these governments from doing what they are doing.”
In April 2022, the organizers of Wimbledon decided to remove Russian and Belarusian tennis players from participation in the tournament in connection with the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine. In December, the ATP filed a lawsuit against the National Tennis Governing Body in the UK, demanding a million dollar payment for the removal of tennis players from the aggressor countries.
Earlier, the IOC made it clear that it does not plan to consider all applications regarding the return of athletes from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus to the Olympic Games-2024. The IOC believes that a complete ban on the performance of Russian and Belarusian athletes is discrimination and is contrary to the Olympic Charter. The organizers of the 2024 Olympics in Paris said they would adhere to the decision of the International Olympic Committee to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete under a neutral flag.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
