“We do not believe in collective guilt,” Wimbledon sent ultimatum as ATP Boss slams decision to ban Russian players
ATP Boss Andrea Gaudenzi has fired a clear warning to the All England Lawn Tennis Club in respect to its stance on Russian and Belarusian players.
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Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev
The All England Lawn Tennis Club took a huge decision last year, when it decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the grass court events in United Kingdom. The ATP were clearly not happy with this decision, and stripped off the 2022 Wimbledon off all ranking points. They also warned the club of stringent actions if the ban continues this year.
However, as of now there is no clear indication from the All England Lawn Tennis Club to overturn the ban on Russian athletes this year. ATP boss, Andrea Gaudenzi is against sports bodies banning individual athletes from competing in various events. However, he condemned the current Russia-Ukraine war situation.
“First of all, I want to reiterate that we always condemn and will condemn war,” the ATP boss told Globo. I know it’s obvious to say this, but it’s important to repeat and reassure, because we send this message very clearly. I think we are very much in line with the guidance of the IOC. Our players cannot play under their flags in team competitions like any other sport. But there are sports that ban individual players,” he added.
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Wimbledon sent final warning by ATP Boss to overturn ban on Russian athletes
Andrea Gaudenzi believes that individual athletes should be not be targeted, as they have no say in the political scenarios in their respective countries. He criticized the concept of collective guilt, which has been the case for Russian and Belarusian athletes, ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
“Generally speaking, we do not believe in collective guilt. These guys have done nothing wrong. They’ve played tennis their whole lives. We feel that, in fairness, they need to have opportunities, like everyone else,” he added.
Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev sent a clear message to all the fans from across the world at the Nitto ATP Finals last year. He condemned the war, and demanded peace to prevail. Andrea Gaudenzi stated that this was a very important message from the tennis star, as he spoke out freely against his own country.
“We saw Rublev write ‘No war please’ on camera. I think this is an important message. We want these players to play, to be able to express their feelings, even for this to reach their own people, their own country. To give your own version of the story. Generally speaking, we are for justice and freedom, and obviously against war, and we will continue to fight for these principles,” he added.
It will be interesting to see if the LTA react to the ever-growing pressure enforced by the ATP. There are also rumors of ATP cancelling all its tournaments in the United Kingdom this season, if the ban continues.
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Nirmit Mehta
(2425 Articles Published)