“Stand against the Russian government”- Elina Svitolina disagrees with Wimbledon’s ruling of banning Russian athletes
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Elina Svitolina
Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina, who is very vocal about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, said that Russian and Belarusian players should get to play the Wimbledon if they disassociate themselves from the war that is taking place between Russia and Ukraine.
The Wimbledon which has been the cause for major debate when it announced a stand against Russia, would be banning Russian players and also Belarusian players as the Belarusian government is a very close ally of Russia.
When asked about her opinion on the players being banned, Svitlolina said, “We don’t want them banned completely. If players don’t speak out against the Russian government then it is the right thing to ban them. We just want them to speak up, if they are with us and the rest of the world or the Russian government. This is for me the main point. If they didn’t choose, didn’t vote for this government, then it’s fair they should be allowed to play and compete.”
The world no. 25 also goes on to say that it saddens her that the players are suffering so much as she herself has very few Russian friends and acquaintances who called to check on how she was doing and if they help in any way. She further says that the Russian and Belarusian players have got to do more to show that they are against war and there should be signs to show that through actions that they are apathetic to the war.
Will Russians and Ukrainians get to play Wimbledon?
World no. 2 Daniil Medvedev tweeted about having peace on Twitter in the month of February. Andrey Rublev created headlines when he wrote “No war please” on the camera lens on his way to winning the Dubai Title. Rublev further adds that he and other Russians and Belarusian players were given an answer as to why they could not play in Wimbledon and the reason, “made no sense.”
So we can see that the Ukrainian is clearly not happy with the decision and says that Wimbledon should allow players who were disapproving of the government in the first to compete as they are innocent.
World no. 1 Novak Djokovic also considers the decision of Russian and Belarusian not being allowed to play ‘crazy’ as they have no part in the war.
Now we can see that even players are not happy with the decision taken by the Wimbledon management and a Ukrainian player herself has clearly stated so. Should Wimbledon listen to fans and other tennis stars like Elina Svitolina and let the Russian and Belarusian players play after all? Let us know.
Also Read: Rome Masters to follow Wimbledon’s path in banning Russian and Belarusian players: Reports
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Harini Mahesh
(159 Articles Published)