Tokyo double gold medallist Andrey Rublev, along with fellow tennis players Daria Kasatkina and Anna Kalinskaya, are among 12 athletes from Russia and Belarus who have declined invitations to compete as neutral athletes at the Paris Olympics.
Russian #tennis players Andrey Rublev, Daria Kasatkina, and Anna Kalinskaya decline to compete in the Paris #Olympics under neutral status.#Russia
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Andrey Rublev Among Many Russians To Decline Paris Olympics Invite
On Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) updated its list, revealing that 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev and women’s world number 22 Ekaterina Aleksandrova are among the 31 athletes who accepted the invitation. Due to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, athletes from Russia and Belarus—Moscow’s main ally—can only compete as neutral athletes without their national flags or anthems.
The IOC has carefully vetted these athletes to ensure they have no connections to the military. However, Russia has criticized these restrictions as discriminatory, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accusing the IOC of descending into “racism and neo-Nazism.”
World number six Rublev, women’s world number 12 Kasatkina, and world number 18 Kalinskaya are not the only ones opting out. Tokyo singles silver medallist Karen Khachanov and Liudmila Samsonova had previously declined the opportunity.
Aryna Sabalenka yet to decide
On the other hand, U.S.-based Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who won a doubles gold and a singles bronze in London in 2012, has accepted the invitation. However, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka is yet to make her decision. Currently ranked world number three, Sabalenka withdrew from Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury, while Russian Tennis Federation chief Shamil Tarpishchev mentioned Rublev would skip the Games for health reasons.
Other athletes accepting the IOC’s invitations include gymnast Ivan Litvinovich, who won gold for Belarus in trampoline in Tokyo, and Russian canoeist Alexey Korovashkov, a bronze medallist in London.
The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11, with the tennis tournament at Roland Garros from July 27 to August 4.
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