The decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from Wimbledon was criticized by Rafael Nadal.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club banned players from Russia and Belarus from all of the UK grass-court tournaments.
Spaniard Nadal said it was unfair on his Russian tennis mates.
It is not their fault what is happening in this moment with the war.
Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic called the ban crazy, while Russian world number eight Andrey Rublev said the ban was illogical.
Elina Svitolina, who was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, said that Russian and Belarusian players who speak out against the invasion should be allowed to compete.
The governing bodies of the men's and women's professional tennis are against the ban. There is a chance that ranking points could be removed from the Grand Slam tournament.
When we go to the Grand Slams, they are really important and we have to go to those tournaments.
What happens in our game doesn't matter when we can see so many people dying and suffering and seeing the bad situation they are having in Ukraine.
The Madrid Open will be Nadal's first tournament since he injured his rib at the end of March.
Talking about the injury, Nadal said he feels good.
It is a completely different story about my tennis game and preparations.
Anyone who has broken a rib knows how bad it can be. I was not able to do anything without a lot of difficulties, even falling asleep because of the pain.
I have improved since I came here, but it has been a long time since I have been in these kinds of situations, so it will be a difficult week.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
