Elina Svitolina, Ukraine’s highest-ranking professional tennis player, said Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to compete at Wimbledon if they condemn President Vladimir Putin’s regime and the invasion of Ukraine.
The hosts of Wimbledon, the All England Lawn Tennis Club, on Wednesday banned players from the two countries from participating in this year’s tournament. The British government previously suggested that Russian players would have to denounce their government and Putin in order to compete.
“We don’t want them to be completely banned,” Svitolina told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast on Thursday.
“If players don’t speak out against the Russian government, it’s right to ban them,” she said. “We just want them to speak up when they are with us and the rest of the world or the Russian government.
“That’s the most important thing for me. If they didn’t choose, didn’t vote for this government, then it’s fair that they get to play and compete.”
Svitolina, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist who is ranked at No. 3 in the world, made a statement on social media on Wednesday urging the tennis federations ATP, WTA and ITF to urge all Russian and Belarusian players to submit theirs make position on the invasion clear.
She asked them to answer three questions: “1. Do you support the invasion of Russia and Belarus on the territory of Ukraine and, as a result, the war that these countries started? 2. Do you support the military activities of Russia and Belarus in Ukraine? 3. Do you support the regime of Putin and Lukashenko?”
“There comes a time when silence is treason, and that time is now,” she wrote.
Tennis legends Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Novak Djokovic have said they do not support Wimbledon’s decision.
“I think it’s crazy. When politics interferes in the sport, the result is not good,” said Djokovic, the men’s No. 1 player from Serbia.