The former Ukrainian tennis pro Sergei Stakhovsky has welcomed the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players at Wimbledon.
“Wimbledon has shown, and always has, that it is bigger than all the players. Wimbledon combines, I would say, aristocracy and morality. That’s why I’m happy about the decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian professionals,” said Stakhovsky in an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
Stakhovsky, who sensationally defeated superstar Roger Federer in the second round in 2013, is currently in his home country in Kiev collecting aid for his compatriots in a volunteer organisation. He won’t be watching anything from the grass-court classic in London, “I just read the results now and then,” said the 36-year-old.
Stachowski: “It goes against the system “
Stakhovsky reiterated that Russians in sport should be “banned at every level”. “If they were all in Russia then, maybe they would understand: Something has to change,” Stakhovsky said. “I wish the tennis community and the sports community would realise: More needs to happen! Banning Russian athletes is not against the athletes. It’s against the system.”
Earlier, Spain’s tennis star Rafael Nadal called the Wimbledon exclusion of Russian players “unfair”. “It’s very unfair to my colleagues. What can the poor people do about it?” the record Grand Slam winner had said recently. World number one Novak Djokovic also criticised the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian professionals. Among others, world number one Daniil Medvedev is affected by the exclusion.