Iga Swiatek says tennis missed chance to ban Russian and Belarusian players after invasion

Poland’s world number one women’s tennis player, Iga Swiatek, has criticized tennis authorities for not banning Russian and Belarusian players outright following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. She believes this was a missed opportunity for the sport to take a strong stance against aggression. In an interview with the BBC, Swiatek expressed her frustration with the lack of support for Ukrainian players from the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

Swiatek, who has been vocal in her support for her Ukrainian rivals, thinks that tennis authorities missed an opportunity to make a strong statement when they permitted players from Russia and Belarus to continue playing, but only as neutral athletes. Other sports have imposed outright bans on Russian and Belarusian players following the invasion in February 2022.

At the time, officials allowed Russian and Belarusian players to compete in three out of four Grand Slam tournaments, with Wimbledon being the exception. However, they punished Wimbledon organizers by not awarding the tournament ranking points. Both Russia and Belarus were also barred from team events such as the Davis Cup, which Russia had won the previous year.

Opinions on banning players

Swiatek believes that banning Russian and Belarusian players outright would have sent a strong message to the Russian government. She cited the example of how German, Japanese, and Italian players were not allowed to play after World War Two. She thinks that the sports ban would have been a small but significant statement to make.

She also recognizes that now it would be unfair to impose a ban on Russian and Belarusian players since the decision was supposed to be made a year ago. Swiatek also acknowledges that sport is essential and has always been used in propaganda.

Swiatek believes that both the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) lacked leadership in the wake of the invasion, resulting in chaos in the sport. She thinks that the sport’s governing bodies should have taken a strong stance against aggression from the beginning.

Sympathy for players

Swiatek has sympathy for the Russian and Belarusian players caught up in the politics of their country. She recognizes that it is not their fault that they hold those passports. She has also shown support for some Russian athletes who spoke out against the war. Swiatek believes it is brave of them to voice their opinions despite their complicated situation.

Last week, Ukrainian tennis player Lesia Tsurenko slammed Belarus’s Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka for claiming she had never felt so much hate in the locker room. Tsurenko accused the Belarusian player of starting another game and claimed that they were now portraying themselves as victims.