Controversy in the yellow stadiums after the refusal to ban Russian players .. and a former player: "They lack courage"!

The former Ukrainian player, Alexander Dolgopolov, accused tennis officials around the world of "losing courage" in their refusal to ban Russian players from competing, in light of the invasion of his country from Russia.

"I told the Professional Players Association that tennis is adopting a cowardly stance today," said the 33-year-old, who returned to his country to take up arms and defend his hometown, the capital, Kyiv, in an interview with French radio station RTL.

"They (the organizers) lack courage and, above all, do not want to bear the potential consequences...Frankly, saying 'we are against war' is not enough."

Dolgopolov won three titles in his career and reached the 13th place in the world rankings in 2012, and announced his retirement in May last year after a renewed injury to his wrist.

He is not thinking about tournaments and Grand Slam tournaments now, as he is diverting his attention to learning how to take up arms to defend his country.

"Honestly, thinking about Roland Garros these days is a joke. It's not more important than the lives of thousands of people. I think the tennis world makes decisions that lack the courage," he said.

With many sports federations around the world banning Russian players or teams and teams from their competitions, the professional and professional associations decided to allow them to participate, but under a neutral flag.

"Because saying 'I am against war' is not enough. Their athletes must condemn their government and admit that these are mass murderers," he said, adding, "Every Russian must pay the price for this aggression."

In another context, Dolgopolov said that he regretted not learning how to handle weapons earlier. "I tried to shoot once in my life. Obviously I'm not good at it, but now I regret it."

He continued, "Now I know how to shoot. Of course I'm not a sniper, but I can shoot someone for sure."

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