Novak Djokovic slams ‘crazy’ Wimbledon ban on Russian, Belarusian players
- Djokovic, who grew up in war-torn Serbia, said the athletes had nothing to do with the ongoing conflict
- ATP and WTA tours said Wimbledon’s decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus was unfair and has the potential to set a ‘damaging precedent’ for the game
World number one Novak Djokovic said Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine is “crazy”.
Wimbledon announced on Wednesday that it had barred all Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s championships due to the invasion, which Russia calls a “special operation”.
The grass court grand slam is the first tennis tournament to ban individual competitors from the two countries, meaning men’s world number two Daniil Medvedev from Russia and women’s fourth-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will be banned from the June 27-July 10 tournament.
Djokovic, who grew up in war-torn Serbia, said the athletes had nothing to do with the ongoing conflict.
“I will always condemn war, I will never support war being myself a child of war,” Djokovic told reporters at the Serbia Open, an ATP 250 event in Belgrade. “I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. In Serbia we all know what happened in 1999. In the Balkans we have had many wars in recent history.