It’s more than a threat. On Instagram, the 15th player in the world Elina Svitolina announced that she was ready to withdraw from the WTA tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, until the organizations have made the necessary decision. Clearly, the Ukrainian asks the WTA, the ATP and the ITF, the governing bodies of world tennis, to exclude the Russians from competitions, as have just been done for example by Fifa or UEFA.
Elina Svitolina, wife of Gaël Monfils, was to face Russian Anastasia Potapova in the first round on Tuesday. “I will not play tomorrow in Monterrey, nor any match against a Russian or Belarusian player until our organizations have taken the necessary decision,” she continues. “I don’t blame the Russian athletes. They are not responsible for the invasion of our country. Furthermore, I would like to pay tribute to those who courageously took a stand against the war. Their support is essential. »
Earlier on Monday, the International Olympic Committee recommended a historic ban on Russians and Belarusians from world sport. Fifa gave him immediate satisfaction: Russia was excluded from the World Cup, a global competition it had hosted four years ago.
The various selections such as the Russian clubs are deprived “until further notice” of any international competition, a joint decision by Fifa and UEFA, the latter also confirming the termination of its sponsorship contract with the gas giant Gazprom , estimated at 40 million euros per year.
For the national team, this means that there will be no play-off on March 24 against Poland, which had declared its determination to boycott the match anyway.
The Russian Football Federation said it “totally disagrees” with this measure which “will have a discriminatory effect on a large number of athletes, coaches, club employees or the national team”.
