Rafael Nadal called the decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian tennis players from Wimbledon “unfair”. The Spaniard, winner of 21 Grand Slam titles, believes the All England Club chose “the most drastic option”.
Wimbledon was widely criticized by the ATP and WTA, as well as by stars like Nadal and Novak Djokovic, for penalizing tennis players due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This exclusion leaves great rackets, such as the Russian, number two in the world, Daniil Medvedev, as well as the Wimbledon semifinalist last year, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, unable to participate in the Grand Slam on the London grass.
“It is unfair to my colleagues. They are not to blame for what is happening with the war. I feel sorry for them. I wish it were not so, but in the end we know that this is what it is. Times change and personalities too , but there are certain limits that cannot be exceeded. Putting the health of line judges or ball boys at risk is crossing too critical a line. In that sense, I think it is true that the sanctions have been light in the first three or four situations of the year”.
Nadal, who returns to the competition after six weeks out due to a rib injury, trusts the involvement of the tennis world so that there is a reverse gear in the decision made by Wimbledon.
“When a government puts in place some measures you have to follow them, in this case the government made a recommendation, and Wimbledon decided to impose the most drastic option without being forced to take it,” he said.
Novak Djokovic, who had described the decision as “crazy”, declared this Sunday that he maintains his position. “I think it’s unfair,” reaffirmed the number 11 in the world.
The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, world number five and runner-up last year at Roland Garros, also spoke about this issue, aligning himself with the position of Nadal and Djokovic.
“They haven’t done anything wrong to be automatically excluded from that tournament,” said the Greek player, referring to his Russian and Belarusian rivals.
Rafa Nadal’s first rival at the Mutua Madrid Open will be the winner of the duel between Miomir Kecmanovic and Alexander Bublik.
“I’m recovered, I feel good. At the level of tennis and preparation it’s another story. The first few weeks were very disabling, but little by little I was able to do a bit of gym work. It’s not a major injury because you know it’s a certain time, but it does not allow you to do practically any training.