The decision to boycott will lead to the destruction of Ukrainian tennis, the organization noted.
TASS, March 20. The Tennis Federation of Ukraine and the leading players of the country appealed to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine with an appeal not to make a decision to ban Ukrainian athletes from competing with Russians and Belarusians. This was announced on Monday by the press service of the Tennis Federation of Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, despite all the attempts of the Ukrainian Tennis Federation and professional players, the governing bodies of tennis have not removed individual athletes. With this appeal, we express a common position regarding the possible decision of the NOC on a complete boycott by the players of all international tournaments where Russians or Belarusians play. Such a decision will lead to the destruction of Ukrainian tennis, because players from these countries take part in almost every competition, and will become a sanction not against the Russians, but against the Ukrainians.
By the decision of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) from 2022, Russians and Belarusians are suspended from team competitions under the auspices of the organization. They are eligible to compete in Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments in neutral status.
“If Russians and Belarusians are allowed to compete, you need to play with them and win, and not avoid the battle,” the message says. “We stand with the position to continue to compete in international competitions, to intensify the fight for the removal of players from Russia and Belarus.”
The letter of appeal was signed by President of the Tennis Federation of Ukraine Sergiy Lagur, as well as members of the national team Angelina Kalinina, Dayana Yastremska, Katarina Zavatskaya, Nadezhda Kichenok, Alexander Ovcharenko, Vladislav Orlov and Ilya Beloborodko.
On March 9, it became known that the NOC of Latvia began to implement the idea of the Ministry of Education and Science of the country to stop funding athletes participating in tournaments in which representatives of Russia and Belarus perform. The list includes the winner of the 2017 French Open, Elena Ostapenko, and two other tennis players. Later, the Minister of Education and Science of Latvia, Anda Caksha, stated that Ostapenko would continue to receive funding from the state budget.