MOSCOW, Aug 9 The US Open wanted to follow Wimbledon's lead and considered the possibility of removing Russian and Belarusian tennis players from participating in the tournament, Mirror reports. In April, the Wimbledon organizers refused to allow Russian and Belarusian tennis players to compete due to the situation in Ukraine, in response to this, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA ) decided not to award ranking points to Wimbledon participants. In June, the US Tennis Association (USTA) decided to allow tennis players from Russia and Belarus to the US Open in a neutral status. According to the publication, the USTA was initially set to remove Russian and Belarusian tennis players. However, later the organization decided to hold a charity exhibition tournament, inviting players from Russia and Belarus to it. Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Pole Iga Swiatek have already been confirmed as participants in the competition. The tournament, which will be held on August 24, will raise funds for Ukraine. The US Open will be held from August 29 to September 11. The current winner of the men's singles tournament is Russia's Daniil Medvedev.
