Andrei Rublyov was one of the first players to distance himself from the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He wrote “No War Please” on camera the day after the invasion, after reaching the final of the ATP tournament in Dubai.

The former Ukrainian leader, Serhij Stakhovsky, called it brave NRK at the time. Now the tone has changed in the Ukrainian tennis community.

Wimbledon decided last week that they would not allow Russian and Belarusian players to participate. The tournament is considered one of the four biggest tennis events of the year.

Rublyov believes it is discriminatory, illegal and undemocratic.

– There is no logic in what they propose. I understand that if they ban us, the Russian and Belarusian players, and it changes by half a percent, it contributes to the change … but it will do nothing. That won’t change anything, Rublyov said before the weekend.

At the same time, he argues that they prefer to set up funds. He thought they should be allowed to play, but the prize money could be donated to a humanitarian cause.

– After all, we want to compete. We are not here to talk about politics. I do not understand that. I am Russian and born in Russia, and have lived in Russia all my life. I just want to show that we are good people.

– The man is not interested

Former Ukraine player, Oleksandr Dolgopolov, believes that Rublyov’s reasoning is full of holes. He specifically responded to the fact that Rublyov claimed he was apolitical.

– So after he claims that he can’t do anything, almost blind and without an education, he goes on to explain why this won’t help and talk about discrimination and democracy.

– If you know nothing and don’t follow, why would you be willing to donate your prize money and which family and children would you like to help?

Dolgopolov thought it was completely unreasonable for Rublyov to claim that he was not keeping up with developments, especially since he was playing in the team with Ukraine a week and a half before the invasion. Together with Denis Molchanov, he won the doubles tournament in France.

– This statement is full of lies and hypocrisy, and the ATP and WTA should not cover up this behavior, Dolgopolov wrote.

– This man is not interested in what is happening in his own country. Not all. He was also not interested in what was happening in the neighboring country. Impressive, writes experienced player Lesja Tsurenko Indonesia.

At the same time, Croatian Donna Vekic has moved on with support for Rublyov, who believes his proposal is well-meaning. Serbian Novak Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic believe it is wrong for players to suffer the consequences of war. Germany-Russia Aleksandr Zverev believes Wimbledon is taking action and “doing as they please”. He is a close friend of Rublyov.

Making demands on the organizer

In the past week, a number of Ukrainian tennis players have written open letters to the major tennis organizations, the ITF, ATP and WTA. There, they demanded that players representing Russia and Belarus must answer the following questions:

1. Do you support the Russian and Belarusian invasions of Ukraine and, as a result, the war started by the two countries?

2. Do you support Russian and Belarusian military activities in Ukraine?
3. Do you support the Putin and Lukashenko regimes?

If they answered yes to all the questions, the Ukrainian players would want to be banned from the upcoming tournament equivalent to Wimbledon.

So far, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has banned them from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup national team competitions.

Believes Russia is avoiding Ukraine

The ATP and WTA, the men’s and women’s professional athlete organizations, have so far forced them to compete under neutral flags. They have distanced themselves from Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russia and Belarus.

Ukraine’s biggest star, Elina Svitolina, told the Tribuna she did not want to boycott Russia. However, he demanded that Russia share their views on the war openly.

– Now it looks like the Russian players are trying to avoid us, so we don’t see or talk to each other. Few expressed support by asking about my family. It is a mystery how one cannot show humanity. Even though we see each other every week, communication is zero. Even with those who used to say “hello”.