Novak Djokovic Calls Wimbledon’s Ban of Russian Players ‘Crazy’

On Wednesday, Wimbledon announced it has banned all Russian and Belarusian tennis players from competing in this year’s major competition amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It became the first tennis tournament to implement a ban of this kind in response to the invasion.

Men’s No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, No. 8 Andrey Rublev and women’s No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka are ineligible to participate due to the decision.

Novak Djokovic, the current men’s No. 1 in the world, believes the decision is a mistake. Djokovic, who was born in Serbia, was 11 years old when NATO bombed Yugoslavia in 1999.

“I know how much emotional trauma it leaves,” he said, via CNN. “In Serbia, we all know what happened in 1999. In the Balkans, we have had many wars in recent history. However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good.”

Wimbledon explained it believes it needs to take a stance since it is such a high profile organization.

“It is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of Government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible,” the All England Club said in a statement.

The Women’s Tennis Association and the Association of Tennis Professionals however, disagreed with Wimbledon’s decision, with the WTA calling it “discrimination.”

“A fundamental principal of the WTA is that individual athletes may participate in professional tennis events based on merit and without any form of discrimination,” the organization said.