Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has spoken out against the All England Lawn Tennis Club's bans for Russian and Belarusian players at this year's Wimbledon, claiming that those who denounce the invasion of her homeland should be allowed to take part.
Stars such as Daniil Medvedev, Aryna Sabalenka and Andrey Rublev are all set to miss the Grand Slam tournament after the AELTC elected to ban all Russian and Belarusian players from competing.
The decision has sparked criticism from both the ATP and WTA, and Svitolina does not want to see players from the two nations banned if they elect to speak out against the Russian invasion.
"We don't want them banned completely," Ukrainian Svitolina told BBC Radio 5 Live. "If players don't speak out against the Russian government then it is the right thing to ban them.
"We just want them to speak up, if they are with us and the rest of the world or the Russian government. This is for me the main point. If they didn't choose, they didn't vote for this government, then it's fair they should be allowed to play and compete."
Svitolina advanced to the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2019 before being knocked out by eventual winner Simona Halep but bowed out in the second round last year.
Ben Knapton
