The WTA, which governs the women’s professional circuit, will not impose sanctions on tennis players who participate in exhibitions in Russia, despite the ban on holding tournaments in this country due to the invasion of Ukraine.
The ‘Northern Palmyra Trophies’, held at St. Petersburg from December 1 to 3, will feature players from the ATP and WTA and is sponsored by Russian energy giant Gazprom, which is controlled by the government of Vladimir Putin.
“This event is not affiliated with the WTA and is not supported by the WTA. Players who compete on the WTA circuit as independent workers have the ability to play exhibitions during the preseason without penalties,” the WTA said. in a statement.
Naturalized Kazakh Russian Yulia Putintseva, number 68 in the ranking, Russians Anastasia Potapova, number 28, and Veronika Kudermetova, number 19 in the classification, will participate. As well as the Italian Jasmine Paolini or the Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomoba.
From the ATP, the organization confirmed the presence of Russian Karen Khachanovnumber 15, his countryman Alexander ShevchenkoThe Spanish Roberto Bautista the French Adrian Mannarinothe Serbs Dusan Lajovic and Laslo Djere or Kazakh Alexander Bublik.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the WTA and the ATP canceled tournaments on Russian territory, banned pro-war statements and forced Russian and Belarusian tennis players to play under a neutral flag.
In addition, tournaments on British soil in 2022, such as Wimbledon, banned the presence of Russians and Belarusians, a measure that was lifted a year later.
Source: La Verdad
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