At least 14 tennis players have confirmed their participation in an upcoming exhibition tennis tournament to be played in the Russian port city of St. Petersburg.
Obviously, organizing a tennis tournament in Russia in the current climate is subject to controversy from many quarters. One Ukrainian account on X with the name Ukrainian Tennis BTU dug out disturbing information about this tournament and its financiers.
The account alleges that Gazprom (who own private military battalions) are the sponsors of this event and, together with the company CEO and media partners, have been openly supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Several fans have voiced concerns about the number and identity of players who have committed to play at this event, considering that the ATP and WTA have suspended staging tennis tournaments in Russia and Belarus since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.
Billed as the battle between The Lions versus The Sphinxes, this exhibition tournament will be played across three days beginning on December 1 at the KSC Arena. Each of the two teams will be represented by six players from the ATP and WTA tours, in addition to having a playing captain.
Eleven matches will be played during the three-day spectacle - nine in singles and two in doubles. The Lions will be led by ATP World No. 15 Karen Khachanov, who will be playing on home soil for the first time in a long while.
Karen Khachanov's teammates at the event will include Russian power couple Anastasia Potapova and Alexander Shevchenko, Viktoriya Tomova, Jasmine Paolini, and Laslo Djere.
The Sphinxes, meanwhile, will be spearheaded by WTA World No. 19 Veronika Kudermetova, Dusan Lajovic, Diana Shnaider, Roberto Bautista Agut, Adrian Mannarino, and the Kazakh Yulia Putintseva.
Four of the sport's retired stars, including Nikolay Davydenko and Anastasia Myskina, representing The Sphinxes, will also be there. Former World No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova has not officially announced her retirement (but remains inactive on tour) and will make an appearance for the Lions together with Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.
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