Iga Swiatek would have wished for a more consistent approach to Russian and Belarusian tennis professionals after the invasion of Ukraine.
“I heard that German, Japanese and Italian players were not allowed to play after the Second World War,” said the tennis world number one from Poland of the “BBC”: “And I have the feeling that such an approach by the Russian government would show that maybe it’s not worth it.”
She is aware that the athletes are just “a small part of the world,” added Swiatek, who has campaigned for Ukraine since the beginning of the war. On the other hand, sport has “always been used for propaganda”.
But now it is too late to ban Russian and Belarusian professionals who were allowed to play under a neutral flag in the ATP and WTA tournaments and in three of the four Grand Slams last year. In 2023, Wimbledon will also lift the ban.
Swiatek would have liked more leadership from the tour organizers of the WTA and ATP during the difficult phase, the 21-year-old emphasized that things were “chaotic” at times. “I think tennis should have shown better from the start that the players are against the war,” said the three-time Grand Slam winner.
According to her, this could have helped the professionals from different countries get along better in the dressing rooms. The atmosphere was “pretty tense”.