Wimbledon is already in full swing, and it seemed that all the scandals associated with the removal of Russians and Belarusians from the competition were left behind.
The Grand Slam tournament is deprived of rating points, and the WTA also issued a fine of $ 1 million to the organizers. At the same time, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has already announced that the exclusion of athletes will only be valid in 2022, and thus, according to the president of the RTF Shamil Tarpishchev, indirectly admitted his mistake.
However, a new wave of public indignation was caused by a solemn ceremony in honor of the centenary of the center court of Wimbledon.
The event was accompanied by performances by famous musicians and fireworks.
It was attended by 26 tournament champions of different years, but among them there was no place for Maria Sharapova.
It should be noted that in addition to the former first racket of the world, a number of other tennis players were not present at the ceremony.
For example, the Americans Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
The same Serena Williams was upset by the defeat in the first round and immediately flew home.
However, it was the absence of Sharapova that raised questions, to which the organizers of Wimbledon gave rather strange answers.
According to the AELTC, the invitation priority was given to athletes who won the trophy several times, and among the one-time winners, those who were either already in London or lived not very far away were chosen.
There was no place for Sharapova in the video, which captures the best moments in the history of center court.
This fact was explained in AELTC by video timing restrictions: the footage of the final with the participation of Maria allegedly simply did not fit.
It turns out that the sensational victory of the 17-year-old Russian over the main favorite of the tournament, Serena Williams, who then defended the title, turned out to be an unimportant event.
As a result, there was no clear answer why there was no mention of Mary at the celebration.
At the same time, the athlete herself did not speak on this topic.
However, the Russian woman already had objective reasons for being absent from the event.
Sharapova is expecting a baby, and doctors usually do not recommend flying during pregnancy, especially long ones.
And a week ago, the tennis player posted pictures from Los Angeles on her social networks.
Therefore, according to the silver medalist of the Olympic Games Elena Vesnina, in this case, you should not escalate the situation.
“I think it’s better not to guess.
Sharapova is now in a long pregnancy.
And for her, such a flight was undesirable.
It seems to me that Masha would have been invited to Wimbledon anyway, ”the athlete said in an interview with RT.
Roland Garros semi-finalist Andrei Chesnokov, on the contrary, noted that Sharapova's absence at the ceremonial events creates additional tension, since the athlete does not even live in Russia.
She moved to the US as a child and speaks English even better than Russian.
“The organizers of Wimbledon only exacerbate the situation with their actions.
And I would understand them if it could help in any way.
And such decisions only aggravate the situation.
What are they counting on?
Will they be able to end the military conflict by removing Masha from the commercials?
She does not live in Russia at all.
Maybe he does not even know about what is happening in Ukraine.
She may not be up to it.
After all, there are people who do not follow the events.
For example, I can't.
I just want everything to end quickly, ”Chesnokov said.
According to the expert, the UK mistakenly believes that sanctions can affect the situation in the world.
“What is happening in Ukraine now is a political issue.
It should not concern ordinary people.
Politicians should be responsible, not me or Masha Sharapova.
What is the fault of the children who are also suspended from Wimbledon?
We were told that they would impose sanctions, but ordinary people would not suffer.
And in the end it turned out the other way around.
Wimbledon's problem is not that he wanted to remove all Russians and Belarusians.
It comes from the royal family.
For some reason, they believe that this will give a positive resonance.
I don't want to offend anyone.
Let them revere how the Olympic Games were formed.
They were created so that at the time of their holding all military conflicts would end,” Chesnokov added.
Russian State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova, in turn, explained the absence of Sharapova at the event by the desire of the organizers to play it safe.
“International federations are afraid, because they understand that there may be a scandal even because of the video.
It's easier not to include footage with Sharapova.
Everyone will see their athletes, except Russia.
Everyone understands that Sharapova was and is.
She is a great tennis player.
Maybe when they start celebrating the next anniversary, everything will be different, ”Zhurova said in an interview with Sport Express.