The US Open will allow tennis players from Russia and Belarus to compete this year despite the war in Ukraine, prompting Wimbledon to ban those players.
Lew Sheer, CEO and executive director of the United States Tennis Federation, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the board of directors of the USTA — the tournament’s organizer — decided to allow Russians and Belarusians to participate “on the basis that they are not must hold an athlete accountable for the actions and decisions of their governments.”
Sherr said the Russians and Belarusians will play at Flushing Meadows under a neutral flag — the same arrangement used at various tennis tournaments around the world, including the French Open that ends June 5.
The US Open will kick off on August 29 in New York.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Russians have been sidelined from many sports, including the European playoffs for the soccer World Cup. Belarus has collaborated with Russia in the war.
Russia was also left out of the tennis team tournaments, the Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup. She was the reigning champion in both.
The All England Club, where the Wimbledon tournament will start on April 27, announced in April a total ban on players from Russia and Belarus. This left out the Russian Daniil Medvedev, the current number of men’s tennis. Medvedev is the defending US Open champion.
That veto sparked criticism from the WTA and ATP tours, as well as from more prominent players such as defending champion Novak Djokovic.
In May, the WTA and ATP decided not to hand out points at Wimbledon this year, an unprecedented rebuke to the All England Club. Some players, like Naomi Osaka, winner of four Grand Slam titles, said she might consider not going to Wimbledon.
The ATP said all points earned at Wimbledon in 2021 will be deducted from each player’s record and no points will be awarded this year. The WTA has yet to define how it will manage the points earned at last year’s Wimbledon, but no new performance points will be awarded this time.
Sheer told the AP that what happened with Wimbledon — the player ban and the backlash from the tours — had no bearing on the decision to allow the Russians and Belarusians to participate.
“Our discussion focused on the merits and principles of both sides of this debate. It really wasn’t a business issue versus an ethical issue,” he said. “You have arguments from both sides. Is it perceived that you support the atrocities of a government? And at the same time… Should an athlete bear responsibility for it?
