The Ukrainian Tennis Federation has officially submitted a letter requesting the removal of Russia and Belarus from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) due to their involvement in the invasion of their country.
On Sunday federation president Sergiy Lagur has called for action to be taken against those two countries as a result of their “unprecedented, cynical and bloody” attacks. Last Tuesday Russian president Vladamir Putin announced a ‘special’ operation against Ukraine, which has been condemned worldwide. It is feared that Belarus may also send troops into the country to support Russia, according to a US official who spoke to the Washington Post on condition of anonymity.
“Civilians are dying, including women and children; civilian infrastructure is collapsing … This is a full-scale war that will push our country back decades,” the letter said.
“Russia and Belarus do not have the right not only to hold international competitions on their territory, but also to participate in all ITF team and individual tournaments abroad.”
Lagur describes the ongoing conflict as a ‘war of extermination.’ A copy of the letter was published on the Facebook account of the Ukrainian Tennis Federation with one of those who liked the post being Andrei Medvedev. A former world No.4 player who reached the final of the 1999 French Open. He is currently the captain of the Ukrainian Davis Cup team.
Last week the ITF confirmed that they are closely monitoring the situation in Eastern Europe and stated that the safety of players is their top priority. They said that the staging any upcoming events this year in either Ukraine or Russia will be based on a risk assessment and ‘advice from security experts.’
“The ITF believes there is no place in sport for politics but as these current events show, it’s a deeply concerning reality,’ a spokesperson said.
“Our first and highest priority is the health and safety of players and all those travelling, competing, and working these events. In light of this, the ITF and the Ukraine Tennis Federation today decided to postpone a World Tennis Tour $15K tournament that was due to take place in Ukraine this April.”
The question now is if the ITF will go any further and take action against Russia and/or Belarus. In other sports, FIFA has banned Russia from hosting matches on home soil, playing their anthem and they must play under the name of the ‘football union of Russia.’ However they are still allowed to play in World Cup qualifying and FIFA has been accused by some of not taking enough action. Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee EB (executive board) has called for all international sports federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus.
The ITF is yet to respond publicly to the letter which was sent to them. The governing body is responsible for the Davis Cup, Billie King Cup, Olympic tournaments and all of the lower level ITF events. The men’s ATP Tour and women’s WTA Tour don’t fall under their jurisdiction.
A letter from the Ukrainian Tennis Federation has also been sent to Tennis Europe asking them to do the same.
Copy of letter sent to the ITF
