Serena Williams is taking part in a Wimbledon affected by the Russia-Ukraine war. After pressure from the government, Wimbledon decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Many players like Djokovic and Nadal have talked about it without mincing their words. Neither of them was in support of the decision and extended their support to the banned players. As per Djokovic, sports and politics should be kept separate.
WIMBLEDON ’22. There is the comeback of Serena Williams after a year away from singles play. There is the ban on players from Russia and Belarus because of the war in Ukraine with top-ranked Daniil Medvedev among those affected.
by @howardfendrich
https://t.co/k5NdyCc8Po— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) June 26, 2022
During the pre-tournament press conference, Serena Williams was asked about the ban imposed on Russian and Belarusian players. Instead of taking a stand, she went the diplomatic route and avoided the question. Moreover, she said, “I think that’s a very interesting question I don’t have any thoughts that I’m ready to share right now in that decision.”
While Wimbledon has decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players, the US Open has taken a different route. Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to play in the tournament. However, they will play under a neutral flag.
Serena Williams avoids question about ATP and WTA stripping Wimbledon of ranking points
Serena was another question regarding the ban imposed by Wimbledon. As a response to Wimbledon’s decision, ATP and WTA decided to strip the ranking points away from Wimbledon. It means the ranking of the players won’t be affected because of the matches played in Wimbledon.
However, Serena again decided not to answer any political questions. Furthermore, she said, “Another heavy subject that involves a tremendous amount of politics and from what I understand, in government and I’m going to step away from that.”
The 23-time grand slam winner is usually very bold and expressive with her thoughts. She doesn’t usually shy away from saying what she thinks. However, it was surprising to see her mouth shut when asked to comment on the politics involved in tennis.
Players like world number one Daniil Medvedev and world number eight Andrey Rublev are some of the big players who would miss the Wimbledon this year. In the women’s side, Belarusian and world number six Aryna Sabalenka would be the biggest name missing from the list.