Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has sought to impose a Wimbledon-like ban on Russian and Belarusian players at the Italian Open, which begins in May.
The men’s event in Rome is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 series, while the women’s tourmanent is a WTA 1000 event.
According to Corriere della Sera, the move to ban the players has been backed by the president of the nation’s Olympic Committee, Giovanni Malagò.
The Italian Open is managed by the ATP and WTA through a contractual commitment with the Italian Tennis Federation. Considering the fact that the ATP and the WTA do not support the ban, it will be interesting to see if the Italian government can convince the country’s tennis federation to impose the ban.
ATP, WTA condemn Wimbledon’s ban on Russian, Belarusian players
The controversial move from Wimbledon, which will affect top players like Daniil Medvedev of Russia and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, has not found support from either the ATP or the WTA.
The ATP released a statement stressing that the unilateral decision of the Wimbledon organizers could set a dangerous precedent for tennis in the future.
Meanwhile, the WTA called the move to ban Russian and Belarusian players discriminatory.
ATP World No. 1 Novak Djokovic said mixing sports with politics would not yield good results as players and athletes had nothing to do with the war.
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