Novak Djokovic has said he “cannot support” the “crazy” Wimbledon ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
The All England Club, which holds the tournament in southwest London every summer, made the announcement on Wednesday to ban the athletes from competing in the tournament over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ban rules out players including men’s world number two Daniil Medvedev and women’s world number four Aryna Sabalenka from featuring in the grass court Grand Slam.
Djokovic, the reigning Wimbledon men’s singles champion, expressed his opposition to the organisers’ stance.
“I will always condemn war, I will never support war being myself a child of war,” he told reporters at the Serbia Open.
“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.
“However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good,” he added.
Of the players now banned from competing at Wimbledon in June and July, Medvedev reached the fourth round of Wimbledon last year, while Sabalenka was a beaten semi-finalist.
Russians Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ranked women’s world number 15), Daria Kasatkina (26) and Veronika Kudermetova (29) are among those affected by the ban. Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka (18) is also excluded.
However, Ukraine’s former world number three, Elina Svitolina, believes it is better for Russian and Belarusian players to speak out against the war in her homeland, with them being allowed to participate if they do so.
“The best way is not to ban them completely, but make them speak about the war in Ukraine, to ask them if they support the invasion in Ukraine, if they support the government,” Svitolina told Sky News.
“And if they can answer those questions and if they say that they don’t support it [the war], they don’t support Putin, they don’t support Lukashenko, then they would be allowed to participate.”
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have also spoken out against the ban.
The ATP said the decision is “unfair” to players, adding that it “has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game”.
The WTA said it is “very disappointed” with the decision and is now “evaluating its next steps and what actions may be taken regarding these decisions”.
The All England Club said in a statement: “We share in the universal condemnation of Russia’s illegal actions and have carefully considered the situation in the context of our duties to the players, to our community and to the broader UK public as a British sporting institution.”
It added that if “circumstances change materially” between now and June, it will “consider and respond accordingly”.
In response to the ban, the Kremlin on Wednesday described the move as “unacceptable”, and said it would impact Wimbledon itself given Russia’s tennis prowess.
The Grand Slam begins on 27 June and concludes on 10 July.
