MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2022) Serbian star tennis player Novak Djokovic has described banning the Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Wimbledon tournament as madness.
On Wednesday, the organizers denied Russian and Belarusian players, including world number two Daniil Medvedev, participation in the tournament over the ongoing military operation in Ukraine. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) condemned the decision, saying it sets a dangerous precedent.
"I will always condemn a war as a I am a child of a war. I know how many traumas it leaves. We, in Serbia, remember what happened in 1999. But I cannot support the decision of the Wimbledon organizers, this is a kind of madness. Tennis players and athletes have nothing with that. When politics come to the sports, the result is not good," Djokovic said, as quoted by the France 24 broadcaster.
The Wimbledon tournament will be held from June 27 - July 10. In March, Nigel Huddleston, the UK parliamentary undersecretary for sport, said that Medvedev and other Russians could be denied participation in Wimbledon if they refuse to publicly condemn Russia's actions in Ukraine.
