The WTA has declared that it will not penalize players who are participating in a Russian exhibition event this weekend.
The upcoming Northern Palmyra Trophies tournament, not associated with the WTA, is scheduled for December 1-3 in St. Petersburg. The tournament will include competitors from both the WTA and men’s ATP Tour. Despite ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the event is being sponsored by Russian energy company Gazprom.
“The organization in charge of women’s tennis has stated that this event is not associated with the WTA and the WTA does not endorse it. Players on the WTA Tour are considered independent contractors and have the option to participate in off-season exhibitions without facing any consequences.”
The ATP Tour spokespersons did not reply to a comment request.
Some of the WTA players competing include Yulia Putintseva from Kazakhstan, who reached the quarter-finals at the French and US Open, Anastasia Potapova from Russia, ranked 28th in the world, and Veronika Kudermetova, a former quarter-finalist at Roland Garros from Russia as well.
According to the website for the event, the ATP players consist of Karen Khachanov from Russia, Roberto Bautista Agut from Spain, and Adrian Mannarino from France, who is currently ranked at number 15 in the world.
In 2022, Wimbledon prohibited players from Russia and Belarus. This led to the tours removing ranking points for the tournament that year. However, they were allowed to compete as neutral players this year.
The UN Human Rights Office reported last week that over 10,000 civilians have lost their lives in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Source: theguardian.com
