“Tennis players are starting to unite”: Briton Murray did not support the removal of Russians and Belarusians from Wimbledon

The news about the removal of Russians and Belarusians from Wimbledon remains one of the most discussed in the tennis community and, of course, was one of the main ones at the Masters in Madrid, where leading athletes from all over the world came.

According to rumors, it is in Spain this week that representatives of the ATP and WTA, after talking with the players, plan to decide on sanctions against the organizers of the Grand Slam tournament.

The fact that international associations will not stand aside was announced last week.

However, how tough the measures will be depends, among other things, on the position of the ATP Players Council, which currently includes 11 people, including Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.

Therefore, first of all, their opinion on the removal of Russians and Belarusians was of interest to journalists.

Both tennis players did not support the organizers of Wimbledon.

“I think this is an incredibly difficult situation.

I talked to some Russian players, some Ukrainians.

I am very sorry for the athletes who were banned from playing, and I understand that they will find this unfair.

But I also know some people who work at Wimbledon, and I know what a difficult situation they are in too ... I sympathize with the organizers of Wimbledon, I sympathize with the players and everyone who was affected by it in Ukraine.

It's just hard for me to talk about it.

I do not support the suspension of the players”, — quotes the words of Murray Daily Mail.

Rafael Nadal also considers it wrong to remove athletes from Wimbledon.

In his opinion, the organizers could take any other decision, the British government only recommended certain steps, but did not insist on them.

“It seems to me very unfair to my Russian colleagues.

They are not to blame for what is happening now during the war.

I feel sorry for my colleagues.

I would like everything to be different, ”admitted the Spaniard.

If we talk about possible measures by the ATP and WTA, then the most severe could be the transformation of Wimbledon into an exhibition tournament, in which points are not awarded to the rating of athletes.

Despite the radicalism, the head of the FTR, Shamil Tarpishchev, allows such a development of events.

“Competitions will still be held, because there is a lot of money there, but this fact will affect the rest.

This will be a precedent for all other tournaments.

Moreover, there has never been a tennis player who refused to play with our guys.

This says a lot, ”the Championship portal quotes Tarpishchev as saying. 

However, a compromise solution looks more likely, in which the points of Russians and Belarusians will be frozen or recalculated in some way.

As Serb Novak Djokovic noted, there are many options for how to proceed, and the most important thing today is to find the most optimal one.

“My position has not changed: I do not support this decision.

This, in my opinion, is simply unfair and wrong.

I believe that now the council of the players and the leadership of the tour will have to think together with the athletes and find the best solution in this situation: whether to save points, protect, remove 50% or come up with something else, ”said the athlete.

Although the ATP and WTA are still considering how to do the right thing, in Russia they look positively at what is happening in the tennis world.

So, the 18-time champion of the USSR Anna Dmitrieva especially highly appreciated the act of Murray, noting the significance of his opinion.

“It's wonderful, he is very authoritative, the champion and the face of Wimbledon, the winner of the Olympic Games right there, on those courts.

I hope his words bear fruit.

Still, it was estimated that about 50 people were suspended from Wimbledon.

I feel that tennis players are beginning to unite in a single decision, it is touching, ”Dmitrieva said in an interview with Sport-Express.

Russian State Duma Deputy Dmitry Svishchev also expects that the position of Murray, Nadal and other eminent athletes will influence the decision of the organizers of the Grand Slam tournament.

“Common sense will always win.

Russophobic hysteria all over the world will not bring anything good either for sports or for art.

Relationships with people must remain in any case.

Now Europeans and Americans are uniting against Russia, but ordinary people and athletes in general are well aware that athletes should not be victims of political intrigues and associations.

Many tennis players have already said that there should be no discrimination based on nationality, ”said Svishchev.

Satisfied with the words of Murray and the winner of two tournaments of the series "Masters" Andrey Chesnokov.

In his opinion, the ex-first racket of the world first of all thinks about relations within the community.

“He is a fine fellow, we must bow low to him.

People come, people become interested.

Take the same Medvedev, who is not very popular.

People still come to see him because he is a top tennis player.

Without him, Wimbledon faded a little, ”the specialist believes.