A sense of distress, surprises and deep sadness have been felt throughout the tennis community after the Russian invasion to Ukraine in the past week. Our minds with Ukrainians, and we praise many tennis players who have spoken and took action against this unacceptable aggression. We echo their calls for violence to end and peace to return.
The security of the tennis community is our closest collective priority. The focus of the WTA and ATP in the end in the past few days has contacted the current and former players, and other members of the tennis community of Ukraine and neighboring countries, to check their safety and offer assistance.
The international governing bodies of tennis stand united in our condemnation of Russia’s actions and, as a result, are in agreement with the following decisions and actions:
- The WTA and ATP Boards have made the decision to suspend the WTA / ATP combined event, scheduled this October in Moscow.
- The ITF Board has made the decision to suspend the Russian Tennis Federation and Belarus Tennis Federation membership and to withdraw their entries from all ITF international team competition until further notice. This action follows the cancellation of all ITF tournaments in Russia and Belarus indefinitely.
- At this time, players from Russia and Belarus will continue to be allowed to compete in international tennis events on Tour and at the Grand Slams. However, they will not compete under the name or flag of Russia or Belarus until further notice.