Belarusian tennis star Victoria Azarenka, former world number one and two-time Grand Slam winner, has expressed dismay at Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
“It breaks your heart to see how many innocent people have been and will continue to be affected by this violence,” the 32-year-old wrote on Twitter.
“I’ve always found people in Ukraine and Belarus to be friendly and supportive of each other. It’s hard to see the violent separation that’s taking place,” Azarenka said.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Tuesday that teams from Russia and Belarus would be excluded from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup competitions.
However, the players can still take part in tournaments on the ATP or WTA tour – albeit under a neutral flag.
Authoritarian Belarus and Russia are closely linked. Belarus was used by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a key location for his troops to invade neighboring Ukraine.
