“(The organizers of Roland-Garros) lack courage. Frankly, it is not enough to say that we are against war. It is a war against our nation, which affects our civilians,” said the 33-year-old Ukrainian, who returned to kyiv in mid-March to take up arms and defend his country.
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) indicated last Wednesday that the door to the Roland-Garros tournament (May 22-June 5) would not be closed for Russian players, including Daniil Medvedev (world No. 2), and Belarusians. “We impose strict neutrality on Russian, Belarusian, said Wednesday the director general of the FFT Amélie Oudéa-Castéra during a press conference. An individual athlete is only banned if he has been selected by his country. It’s the framework, we stick to it”she justified. ” For the moment “, added the president of the FFT Gilles Moretton.
“Russian athletes must condemn their government, recognize that this is mass murder”
Dolgopolov also challenged world tennis leaders. “I told the ATP: tennis has a very loose posture today. I think the tennis world makes decisions that lack courage. Russia must be banned from what is run by the free world. Their athletes must condemn their government, recognize that these are mass murders. »
The former player called on Russian tennis players to firmly affirm their opposition to the war. “I’m pretty sure they’re against this war. But if they take a neutral position, like ”I am against war”, it’s as if they were telling us ”Leave it to me, I live my life in my corner, I don’t want to be involved, I just want to play tennis”. This position is not tenable today, sorry,” he asserted.
