The tennis community was among the first to flock to the support of the Ukrainian people, who are facing a standing ovation for the Russian battalion tasked with the military operation in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, international bodies governing tennis, including the ITF, ATP and WTA, made a joint statement with representatives of events at the annual tennis circuit condemning the acts of violence committed by Russia.
“Deepest distress, shock and sadness has been felt throughout the tennis community in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over the past week,” the statement said.
The bodies echoed the opinion of several tennis stars who called for an end to the violence and a return to normalcy.
“Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine, and we commend the many tennis players who have spoken out and taken action against this unacceptable act of aggression.”
The immediate priority of the governing institutions was the safety of the tennis community.
“The focus of the WTA and the ATP in particular in recent times has been to contact current and former players, and other members of the tennis community in Ukraine and neighboring countries, to investigate their safety and offer any assistance.”
Tennis’s international governing bodies stood together in condemning Russia’s action and agreed on some urgent decisions.
Firstly, the event, which was to be held in Moscow later this year, was suspended.
“The WTA and ATP boards have decided to postpone the WTA/ATP joint event to be held in Moscow this October.” read the statements.
In addition, the Russian Tennis Federation and the Belarus Tennis Federation decided to suspend membership and withdraw their entries from all ITF international team events unless otherwise notified.
“This action follows the indefinite cancellation of all ITF tournaments in Russia and Belarus,” the document said.
And finally, it was decided that players from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to continue competing in international tennis events at the Tour and Grand Slam, on the condition that they do not represent the banner of Russia or Belarus until further instructions. Huh.