MOSCOW, Apr 24 Serb Novak Djokovic, the world No. sees the need to ban the participation of Russian and Belarusian tennis players in the Wimbledon tournament.
"I stick to what I said earlier. There is no need to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in Wimbledon. We have rules in tennis that say no discrimination. We play by rating, not by nationality. I support the statements made by the ATP and PTPA",” he said at a press conference after reaching the final of the tournament in Belgrade.
This week, Wimbledon organizers announced that they would not allow Russian and Belarusian tennis players to compete because for the situation in Ukraine. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) criticized the decision, calling it discrimination based on nationality. Djokovic also spoke harshly about the organizers of Wimbledon. According to him, their decision is madness. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not very good, added Djokovic. Wimbledon tennis tournament will be held from 27 June to 10 July. Djokovic is his current winner, in women it is Romanian Simona Halep. Among Russians last year, the best in men was Karen Khachanov, who reached the quarterfinals, in women's doubles Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina reached the final.