“This is really dangerous territory, we have to be sensitive about it”- Todd Woodbridge opines on potential ban of Russian players from Wimbledon


“This is really dangerous territory, we have to be sensitive about it”- Todd Woodbridge opines on potential ban of Russian players from Wimbledon

Todd Woodbridge, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev

Amidst the war in Ukraine, Russia has been hit with multiple sanctions for launching a full-fledged invasion. The repercussions of these were felt on the sporting world as well. Sports including football and figure-skating banned Russian athletes from competing at international competitions. Tennis also followed suit but stopped short of a blanket ban and suspended the federations of both Russia and Belarus. Athletes from both these countries will be allowed to compete at individual competitions under a neutral flag.

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But calls have been growing for a complete ban on the Russian players. Recently, British Sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston, claimed Russian players should be barred from competing at Wimbledon unless they publicly condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to invade Ukraine. Former Australian tennis pro, Todd Woodbridge however opined this move to pressure athletes to publicly denounce the Russian invasion would harm the players.

Players would be walking on thin ice if they openly condemn Russia, notoriously known for its authoritarian regime. Woodbridge said it is unchartered territory and the players would be in harm’s way if they are forced to speak out against their homeland.

“That is such slippery and dangerous ground. We all know they have families back in whatever part of Russia they are from, and you do not want to be on the wrong side of that, because your family will pay a price. This is really dangerous territory, and one that we have to be very sensitive about,” said Woodbridge to Nine Sports Sunday.

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I feel at this point we allow them to play“- Todd Woodbridge on Russian players

Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev
Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev

Woodbridge also urged that one should not mix sports with politics, especially in tennis, which is an individual sport. He added that at this point they should be allowed to play and also mentioned Andrey Rublev, who recently made it to the semi-finals of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters. The player-turned-broadcaster also added that most of the Russian athletes don’t even reside in Russia.

“It’s an individual sport. I feel at this point we allow them to play. Andrey Rublev this week made it through to a semi-final. It’s really hard if we go down that line. Teams are different, that is national representation. Individuals are different. A lot of them don’t live in that country… as an example, for 11 years of my career, I lived in the United States. I feel it has to be let’s see what happens over the coming months, and then we’ll be able to make a better decision,” he added.

Their own country might be the instigator of the war, but Russian athletes have been quite vocal about their support for Ukraine. In fact, Rublev was one of the first tennis players to condemn the war and make a plea for peace. Daniil Medvedev also appealed for peace in these testing times, whereas Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was more straight-forward and openly condemned the vile move by Russia to invade Ukraine and said any type of motive cannot justify such violence.

Also read: “This is not enough, every Russian is responsible” Alexandr Dolgopolov demands a ban on all Russian athletes

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