According to Marca, the Ukrainian Federation is calling for the dismissal of new world number one Medvedev from the Grand Slam tournaments.
Russian Daniil Medvedev became world number one when his country invaded Ukraine. He might not participate in the other Grand Slam tournaments this season. In any case, this is the wish of the President of the Ukrainian Tennis Federation. According to Marca, Seva Kewlysh has thus asked the International Federation ITF to ensure that the Muscovite loses his status as world number one. Just that. “We will let Medvedev play the ATP Tour tournaments, but the Grand Slams are ITF tournaments. If you can’t play them, you’ll never be number one (…) Medvedev shouldn’t play at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. »
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Sanctions followed one another on Tuesday, the day after the call by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban the Russians from international sports competitions: as their footballers, their athletes and their skaters were banned and the organization of the World Volleyball Championship been removed.
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Read alsoWar in Ukraine: Ukrainian tennis player Svitolina pressures the WTA to take a stand
As the WTA and ATP tournaments in Indian Wells, California approach, the organizations that govern world tennis have still not taken a position. To the chagrin of Elina Svitolina and other Ukrainian players who were surprised by the silence of the WTA, and the contrast with its reaction in the Peng Shuai case. Committed to the Monterrey tournament, Svitolina refused to face the Russian Anastasia Potapova in the first round and warned that she would maintain this position as long as the tennis authorities did not follow the first recommendations of the IOC to accept “Russian or Belarus nationals only as neutral athletes».
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For his part, Medvedev published a message on Twitter on Sunday in which he called for an easing of the situation between the two countries: “I ask for peace in the world, peace between countries. Children are born with an innate trust in the world, they believe a lot in everything: in people, in love, in matters of security and justice, in the chances of their lives. Let’s get together and show them that it’s true, because every child must not stop dreaming.»
