Ex-hockey player Edward Kudermetov , father of tennis players Veronika and Polina Kudermetov, on the air of the program “There is a theme!” on , he told how things are going now with his daughters’ admission to Wimbledon.
Earlier it was reported that Russian tennis players to participate in Wimbledon are required to prove the termination of sponsorship contracts with companies on the sanctions lists. The reason could be the case of Veronika Kudermetova, who was forced to withdraw Tatneft’s badges from Roland Garros.
– What are your feelings from this information?
– This is not a sport, but an ongoing policy. I do not know what to say. At first it was like this: they wrote a letter from Wimbledon that they could not give Polina a visa, which they regret. And then in the article they write that she herself changed her plan, according to Wimbledon. She still doesn’t have a visa. They also did not give Kotov from the ATP.
The authorities do not explain why they do not give Polina a visa, although the passport is at the embassy.
The foreign press even wrote that Tatneft was not on the sanctions list. That is, in the UK you cannot play with these stripes, but in other tournaments – please. Polina will not play in the competition.
– And Veronique?
She took off her patch. She’s already at Wimbledon. The trains.
– Can Russian tennis survive without international tournaments? If the Russians will be removed from international tennis.
– Tennis is a genre where all major competitions are open. In Russia there are championships, cups. But it’s still not the same level. We had the Kremlin Cup and the Ladies Trophy in Saint Petersburg. Foreign athletes rated our tournaments as the best. But Russian tennis cannot live without international tennis.
As part of the SVO, all foreign sponsors who funded ours were ordered to leave Russian athletes. These sponsors are under pressure. All transfers are expensive.
Veronica has a physical trainer, a head coach, and her husband, who is also a coach. She says she lacks specialists. Everyone must be placed. Good coaches stipulate that a flight over 6 hours is only business class, a certain hotel room, etc.
– How much does it take to send a junior to a European country for a tournament?
– Before it was cheaper, there were direct planes. Now we have to fly from Kazan to Sweden, for example. We fly to Antalya, from there to Copenhagen, and from there we move to Sweden, 56,000 rubles one way. Trainer – multiply by two. Also, airplanes are exhausting. This is not the subway, – said Kudermetov on the air of .
Wimbledon will take place from July 3 to 16.
Source : MatchTV
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.
