Rafael Nadal has spoken out against Wimbledon's decision to exclude Russian and Belarussian players from this year's tournament.
Wimbledon said this month that due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, no Russian or Belarusian players would be allowed to compete at the 2022 Wimbledon. Top-10 men's players Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, as well as female stars Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka, are all out due to this decision. The 21-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal, feels the All England Club went with "the most extreme approach," and hopes the circuits can find a way to work around the restriction.
The ATP and WTA, as well as players like Rafael Nadal's great rival Novak Djokovic, have slammed Wimbledon for imposing the suspension in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev were also against this decision. On the other hand, some players like Alexander Bublik believe that Wimbledon had the right to make this decision.
"Let's see if we can take some kind of decision on this," Nadal said. "It's very unfair to my colleagues, they aren't to blame for what is happening with the war. I feel sorry for them and I wish it wasn't like this. In the end, we know that this is what it is. When the government puts measures in place, we have to follow them."
Current world number 1, Novak Djokovic shares Nadal's opinion about the Wimbledon ban, when he said earlier:
"I will always condemn war, I will never support war being myself a child of war. I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. In Serbia we all know what happened in 1999. In the Balkans we have had many wars in recent history."
"However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good."
Alexander Bublik, Dayana Yastremska and Elina Svitolina who all defended the decision, respectively said:
“I don't want to judge whether it's right or wrong, but I'll be happy to tell you what I think about it. It is a decision of the government and the organisers. You have the right to do so. For me, sport is also a distraction from normal life, if you will - and no sport should be mixed up too much with politics," said Bublik.
"How would I be able to play against those players at the tournament when all the world is talking about the war that is being fought against Ukraine? So I think the decision they are making is right. I think the decision they made is very respectful, they did the right thing. What they’ve done for Ukraine is the right thing. Other players are supporting it as well," said Yastremska.
“We don’t want them banned completely,” Svitolina said on BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast. “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, they didn’t vote for this government, then it’s fair they should be allowed to play and compete.”
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