“If they say a word, their parents could be thrown in prison,” John McEnroe sympathizes with Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev amidst Russians being sidelined from the tour
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Daniil Medvedev and John McEnroe
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has had a very bad impact on the contemporary lives of people across various sects and the sporting world has had its fair share of trouble too. Talking about tennis, Wimbledon became the first and only tournament to ban Russian and Belarussian athletes from this year’s tournament in order to take a stand against the Russian atrocities on Ukraine.
Wimbledon was subjected to a lot of fair criticism after this decision as many believed that the players were punished for a crime they didn’t commit. As a result, World No.1 Daniil Medvedev, despite being one of the favorites, couldn’t participate in the third major of the year along with big names like Andrey Rublev, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Aryna Sabalenka.
In a talk with GQ Magazine, John McEnroe spoke about the topic and termed all of the matter as ‘very upsetting’ and ‘sad’. He discussed how the No.1 player in the world wasn’t allowed to play because of something that he doesn’t want to be happening.
“It was very upsetting. It was sad. And then on top of everything else, there’s just the horrific war in Ukraine, and Wimbledon banned Russian players from playing. Our number one ranked male player was not allowed to play because of something that I’m pretty damn sure he doesn’t want to be happening. I would bet my life savings on it,” he said.
‘They can’t say anything, so to punish them in this way, it’s really sad’: John McEnroe on Russian players
McEnroe said that if the players want, he definitely would be up to speak to them because even he was subjected to a lot of criticism during his time for different reasons. But he also said that the Russians know that if they say a word against the Russian regime, their parents could be thrown in prison for 15 years.
“I would speak to any of them if they wanted to. It’s obviously a different time. For the most part, these guys do great and handle themselves. It would be instructive for some of these guys to talk about it. I can’t advise any of these Russians. If they say a word, their parents could be thrown in prison for 15 years. That’s something. No kidding, they’re not saying anything. Because Wimbledon wanted them to come out and say they’re anti-war,” he said.
He also acknowledged how Andrey Rublev came out once and wrote “No war please” on the camera which shows how the players don’t want all this happening either.
“Andrey Rublev, who’s seven in the world came out and put “No War Please” on [the TV camera], when he won an event just before it started, so obviously he doesn’t want that to be happening. But they can’t say anything, so to punish them in this way, it’s really sad,” he said.
Also Read: “Rafael Nadal has done the impossible at Roland Garros”: Padel player Paquito Navarro
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