Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
Kyiv (Ukraine), Mar 1 : Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina, ranked 15th in the world, has withdrawn from the Monterrey Open where she was slated to face Russian Anastasia Potapova in the first round on Tuesday. Svitolina requested the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and International Tennis Federation (ITF) to “follow the recommendations of the IOC to accept Russian or Belarussian nationals only as neutral athletes, without displaying any national symbols, colours, flags or anthems”. The Ukrainian announced on Twitter that she “will not play tomorrow in Monterrey, nor any other match against Russian or Belarussian tennis players until our organisations take this necessary decision”. “I do not blame any of the Russian athletes. They are not responsible for the invasion of our motherland. Moreover, I wish to pay tribute to all the players, especially Russians and Belarussians, who bravely stated their position against the war. Their support is essential.”
With UNI inputs
