MOSCOW, March 9 Former world number one Romanian Simona Halep believes that Russian tennis players don't deserve to be condemned because of the situation in Ukraine just because they are citizens of Russia.
"I don't think we should condemn Russian tennis players just because they are from this country. It's hard for me to say something. Perhaps in the near future everything will be resolved, but they are not to blame. I'm sorry about how they feel right now. It’s not easy when the flag is taken away from you,” Halep is quoted by the Romanian edition of Digi Sport.
Earlier, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) suspended the membership of the Russian Tennis Federation and the Belarusian Tennis Federation and canceled all tournaments in these countries under the auspices of the organization for background of the situation in Ukraine. In addition, Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be able to compete in tournaments under the auspices of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), as well as Grand Slam tournaments only as neutral athletes without the country's flag.