"It's the right thing" - Elena Rybakina gives verdict on Wimbledon lifting its ban
Elena Rybakina has revealed that she believes it is the correct decision for Wimbledon organisers to have lifted the ban on Russian and Belarusian players for this year's Championships.
Speaking to the press during her post-match conference following her first-round victory over Niemeier at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix this week, the 2022 Wimbledon champion said that she believes it is right for all players to be able to compete at Wimbledon.
The AELTC - who organise Wimbledon - and the LTA, organisers of the other UK grass-court events, both banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing last summer. It was a decision that caused huge controversy and led to the removal of ranking points at all these events from both the ATP and the WTA.
However, in light of the reversal of the ban this year - done mainly because of the threat of expulsion and heavy fines from the ATP and WTA - controversies and tensions remain as high as ever.
When asked whether she had received the same level of negativity as Aryna Sabalenka, the Moscow-born Kazakhstani said that she had not.
Well, I didn't have any experience like that, but I think it's the right thing that they are going to play since all tour they have been playing, and they have already restriction. It's no flag, no anything.
She went on to add that, because the rest of the tour operates in unison when it comes to Russians and Belarusians, it makes sense for Wimbledon to do the same.
So I think that it's good to play for them, and everybody as a player wants to play in the biggest tournaments, so...
Rybakina will take on big-hitting Haddad Maia is the next round in Stuttgart.
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