Wimbledon excludes Russian athletes

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Serbian tennis pro Novak Djoković at the Serbia Open in Belgrade

Photo: ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP

World number one Novak Djokovic has heavily criticized the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian tennis professionals from this year's tournament in Wimbledon.

After his opening win at his home tournament in Belgrade, the Serb called the decision on Wednesday evening "crazy".

Tennis professionals or athletes in general have nothing to do with the war, said Djokovic.

"If politics interferes in the sport, the result is not good," said the six-time Wimbledon champion, who was excluded from the Australian Open by the Australian government at the beginning of the year and expelled from the country because he had not been vaccinated.

In view of the wars in the Balkans, the 34-year-old recalled that he himself was a war child.

He was the first to condemn wars, said Djokovic, also with a view to the suffering of the civilian population.

»Hard for those affected«

In response to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the Wimbledon organizers announced that professionals from Russia and Belarus would not be allowed to take part in the grass classic from June 27th to July 10th.

Among those affected are world number two Daniil Medvedev from Russia and world number four Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus.

The organizers admitted that it was hard for those affected to suffer from the actions of the Russian leadership.

Wimbledon is the first tennis event to take this step.

There was also criticism of the two professional organizations ATP and WTA.

Numerous other sports have already excluded athletes from Russia and Belarus from their events in recent weeks.

see/dpa