Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka has accused officials at Wimbledon of being unwilling to find a solution to their decision to ban Russian and Belarussian players from the tournament this year.
The All England Club became the first Grand Slam to implement such a ban in the wake of Russia’s military assault on Ukraine which started on February 24th. According to the UN, at least 5000 civilians have been killed in the conflict. Officials said their decision was made in conjunction with advice issued by the British government amid concerns that the Russian regime could use the event as propaganda.
However, both the ATP and WTA condemned the move and removed the awarding of points at the tournament for the first time in the Open Era. Russian and Belarussian Russian players on those Tour’s can compete but only under a neutral status.
Azarenka has hit out at Wimbledon’s decision-making process which she described as ‘reckless and careless.’ During an interview with tennis.com after her first round win at the Citi Open, she said officials missed an opportunity to unite the sport.
“I’m on the Player Council, so I can’t completely cut myself off,” said Azarenka. “I take that part of my job very seriously. I think what people missed here was a big opportunity to show how sports can unite. I think we missed that opportunity, but I hope we can still show it.”
Andrey Rublev, who was also banned from participating, has previously said that he tried to put forwards solutions for him and his peers to play. Including a proposal for him to play in the mixed doubles draw with a Ukrainian player. Azarenka confirmed that these proposals were made but were met with ‘absolute ignorance’ from others.
“How did I deal with it? I always try to find a solution that is beyond myself and what can be better because I love to help people,” she says. “I love to find solutions from difficult situations. I think what was hard was the absolute ignorance and carelessness from the other parties. I think that was a tough part to digest, because you’re coming in with options, opportunities and your heart, and it’s met with basically a ‘We don’t care.’
“But we all move on. It didn’t change my view and my perception when it comes to helping people, and it won’t. I don’t believe that part of me will ever go away, so we’ll just move on.”
Azarenka began her campaign at the Citi Open with a 6-4, 6-0, win over Dayana Yastremska in what was her first Tour match since May. The fourth seed will play Tereza Martincová in the next round.
