Ukrainian tennis federation lashes out on WTA and ATP as many Top-100 players including Bublik, Khachanov and Potapova sign up for an event in Russia

The Twitter handle of the Federation has also raised questions over the neutrality of the ATP.

Ukrainian tennis federation lashes out on WTA and ATP as many Top-100 players including Bublik, Khachanov and Potapova sign up for an event in Russia

Karen Khachanov (image via: The HT)

The Ukrainian Tennis Federation has expressed its disappointment over the WTA and ATP. Numerous top-100 players from Europe have signed up for an exhibition tournament in Russia at the exho tournament of Gazprom. This is after the news broke out that the general sponsor of the event has some involvement in financing Russian machinery for war against Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Tennis Federation has posted several tweets over the issue on their official social media handles. It has especially targeted the media partner of the competition, Match TV for its pro-war views and broadcasts.

One of the tweets said that the company has a pro-war attitude as it broadcasts pro-war rallies, marches, and even pro-war sports events. The tweet also stated the fact that their programs always display words of support for the war soldiers of Russia and even their hosts use pro-war symbols.

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One of the tweets has also lashed out at the head of the tournament’s press office in 2022 for supporting Putin and his war against Ukraine. Mikhail Ivanov, one of the presenters of the tournament, is said to have a pro-war attitude after a few of his blogs and interviews have floated on the internet.

Where’s Ukrainian Tennis heading into?

The Ukrainian Tennis Federation has raised questions to the ATP and WTA about the fact that they can allow the players to play in such a tournament where the investors invest in both sports and war. The Twitter handle of the Federation has also raised questions over the neutrality of the ATP as three Russian media had worked in the ATP Finals on site.

A post on Twitter also opened up about one of the main investors of the tournament having ties with one of the closest allies of Putin, Andrey Bokarev.

Alexander Bublik
Alexander Bublik (image via: The New York Times)

Several of the top 100 players, such as Andrei Chesnokov and Karen Khachanov, have signed up for the exhibition tournament. The federation has also reached out to the other tennis federations, telling them that it can’t just be about sports in Russia, especially when Putin’s allies are involved.

However, the Ukraine national team will be facing the USA in the qualifiers of the 2024 Davis Cup in February. This will be the first meeting between Ukraine and the USA. Moreover, the world of tennis hopes that things become calmer in Ukraine and sports face no political boundaries.

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