MOSCOW, Aug 12 President of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) Shamil Tarpishchev said that the tennis community has proven that protecting the rights of an athlete is above political propaganda. In April, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) refused to allow Russian and Belarusian tennis players to Wimbledon due to the situation in Ukraine. In response, in May, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) decided not to award ranking points to participants in the tournament. Russian tennis players are allowed to ATP and WTA tournaments in a neutral status. «Now many are hearing about attempts to exclude Russia from the world sports movement. The tennis community proves that protecting the rights of an athlete is higher than political propaganda. Technologically, we can be ahead of the West with our methodological developments. Therefore, now is the most fertile time to work on the territory of our country,» Tarpishchev said at the award ceremony for Russian Olympians and specialists, which was held by Russian presidential aide Igor Levitin at Luzhniki on Friday. In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree awarding Tarpishchev the Order of Merit for Fatherland» II degree.
