Last year Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarusian players because of the invasion of Ukraine. How do people feel now they're back? The Athletic has spoken to players from those three nations — and seen how the crowds have responded.
The 25-year-old was greeted with warm applause on No 3 Court, where he beat Max Purcell in straight sets to reach the second round. Afterwards, he said he was glad to be back, though repeated his belief that the organisers had “better options” last year when they put the ban in place.
And then last week at Eastbourne, one of the warm-up grass events before Wimbledon, Kasatkina was hugged by a spectator for her bravery. “I don’t know if we can be fully like, ‘Let’s move on and forget about everything that happened ’,” Azarenka told. “I think that’s going to take a little bit of time to do that and we have to be sensitive to what’s going on in the world.
At recent tournaments, players from Russia and Ukraine have been seen staring at their phones to avoid acknowledging each other. During her win on Monday, the women’s world No 1, Iga Swiatek, wore a ribbon on her cap with the colours of the Ukraine flag in a show of solidarity for the victims of the war.
“I would let them play, but I also would like to know how they feel,” she said. “And have them sign something that they are against the war. Then we have a clear answer. We know they are against it.
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