Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete at 2023 Australian Open

While the war in Ukraine continues to rage, Russian and Belarusian players won’t be excluded from the 2023 Australian Open but will be forced to compete under a neutral flag.

Earlier this year, Russia launched a 'special military operation' into Ukraine, which was widely condemned by the rest of the world as an act of aggression. As innocent as they might be in the grand scheme of things, Russian athletes have faced a lot of criticism for the actions of their government.

Some have expressed support for the war, some have come out against it, while the majority have remained neutral. Calls for their expulsion from sports have been loud and mostly driven by Ukrainian athletes for obvious reasons.

Tennis hasn’t been spared the tension between the two countries, which are quite prominent in the tennis world. There are many Ukrainian and, especially, Russian players, making it a tricky time for the sport to navigate.

After Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the event, the possibility of other events doing the same has been brought up. So far, no country or event has expressed the desire to do so, although Russian and Belarusian players still continue to play under a neutral flag.

That will continue at next year's Australian Open as well. While no bans have been imposed, players will be only permitted to compete if they abandon national symbols.

The upcoming Australian Open will follow the rules set out by the governing bodies of tennis. Russian and Belarusian players won’t be banned from the event provided that they adhere to the rules of competing under a flag of neutrality.

Australian government minister Anika Wells confirmed this in a brief comment on the situation.

So far, all of the players have complied with the rules, including the leading names from both Russia and Belarus, and it’s widely expected that they will continue to do so through next year.

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