The russia-ukraine warafter the invasion of the Ukrainian territory by the country of Vladimir Putin, is conditioning the sports scene as if it were a real earthquake. We have been a little less than a week since the Russian president announced a “military operation” in the neighboring country, which has ended up leading to an intervention that leaves dead, sanctions of all kinds and a horizon of full uncertainty in parts of society that are affected by war. Sport, of course, is one of them. Tennis, despite not being a team sport, is also experiencing a situation of full tension, and the resulting escalation could cause something almost unprecedented: that Russian athletes are excluded from sports competitions and, therefore, we cannot see in track players like Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev O Daria Kasatkina.
Beyond morality and whether or not you agree with this possible situation, it is becoming a more and more logical scenario. Even though the ball is on the court of the ATP and of the WTAthe recommendations and instructions of the International Olympic Committee are very clear: they urge and recommend the “non-participation” from Russian and Belarusian athletes in sports competitions. They are really harsh statements that show a clear position against the Russian invasion (with the support of Belarus), and they explain it as follows: the dilemma they find themselves in, knowing that many Ukrainian athletes and clubs cannot continue his normal rhythm of life for having turned his country into a war camp, he cannot in any case “not punish” that country that has started the war that we know today. We could think that they are collateral damage, but it is an argument that, of course, makes some sense.
Now, the International Olympic Committee also makes it clear that this is a decision to be made by the organisms that control and govern their respective sports and disciplines. Moreover: even if this is not possible for organizational or legal reasons, they urge these federations not to participate in any way under the Russian or Belarusian flag or name, disguising them as “neutral athletes” that they would only represent themselves. Neither flags nor symbols nor names that allude to these two countries could be displayed. Furthermore, the Committee makes it very clear that no sporting event should be held under any of these countries. And this is where we question ourselves… where is tennis in all this?
COULD MEDVEDEV MISS INDIAN WELLS?
At the moment, neither the ATP nor the WTA have answered the questions that arise due to the invasion. The response has been silence, something that has caused the clear anger of the Ukrainian tennis players. we read as Sergiy Stakhovsky had signed up for the Ukrainian Army Reserves list, how Ilya Marchenko hit the Russian government hard on social media… but it has been the female players who have focused their complaints on the inaction of the bodies that govern our sport. While Marta Kostyuk and Lesia Tsurenko They have addressed the WTA to demand that they publicly show their condemnation of the invasion and, in addition, remove any event in Russia from the calendar, Elina Svitolina He went even further and launched a clear ordeal: will not face a Russian or Belarusian player until its athletes are recognized as “neutral”, something that would be in line with the second recommendation of the International Olympic Committee.
But if tennis is having a really lax approach to conflict, the international pressure from other sports it can be a heavier slab as time goes on. If we go to soccer, FIFA and UEFA They have prohibited both the Russian teams (Spartak Moscow) and the national team itself from continuing to participate in European competitions (which means, as a consequence of greater impact, that Russia will not play the next World Cup in Qatar). The Formula 1 has canceled the Sochi Grand Prix (Russian city), a permanent appointment on its calendar, and will meet tomorrow to discuss the future of Nikita Mazepin, a Russian driver, in the discipline; the European Handball Federation it has also decided to expel Russian and Belarusian clubs from its competitions, in addition to both national teams; the end of the Champions League it will not be played in Saint Petersburg, not to mention the commercial relations with Russian companies that have been terminated (UEFA and Schalke 04 with Gazprom, Manchester United with Aeroflot).
On the one hand, as far as team competitions are concerned, the Russian team has secured its ticket to the Davis Cup Finals, after being champions of the last edition. The ITF has not commented on this; nor when it comes to canceling events on Russian soil, beyond the non-dispute of the Moscow Challenger for a security issue. Neither the ATP nor the WTA have mentioned the possibility of expel to the Moscow tournament, which is still on their calendars. However, the biggest debate could focus on the figure of the players themselves. It is a possibility that names like Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Aryna Sabalenka, Daria Kasatkina, Victoria Azarenka o Karen Khachanov stay out of upcoming tournaments, should the ATP and WTA decide to follow the Olympic Committee’s guidelines. This would open up a huge list of questions on the circuit, some of them referring to the fight for number 1 in the world on the men’s circuit, which could be orphaned of its number #1 and #2 for the next big tournament.
Will really harsh sanctions materialize or will tennis continue through diplomatic channels? Will we see acts of “rebellion” in the absence of meaningful sanctions? Will the Russia-Ukraine war really impact the world of tennis? We will see the answer in the coming days: we just have to wait.
