LOS ANGELES – The WTA and the ATP have decided that they will respect individual players’ choices and not stop them from playing in any tournament in the off-season, while maintaining their position on competitions held in Russia.
The women’s tour said that while it does not support an exhibition event being held in the country this weekend, players who take part in it will not be sanctioned.
The men’s tour also said it also would not penalise its players for taking part in the second edition of the Northern Palmyra Trophies tournament, which will take place from Dec 1-3 in St. Petersburg.
The event, which is sponsored by Russian energy giant Gazprom, is being held while Russia continues its war with Ukraine, a conflict that started in February 2022.
“This event is not affiliated with the WTA nor is the WTA supportive of the event being held,” the WTA told Reuters on Nov 27. “Players compete on the WTA Tour as independent contractors and, at their discretion, have the ability to participate in an exhibition without penalty during the off-season.”
The ATP took a similar stance on the issue.
“The ATP does not currently place restrictions during the off-season related to exhibition events and, as independent contractors, players are able to choose where they compete,” the ATP said, a day after the WTA statement.
Among the WTA players taking part are former French and US Open quarter-finalist Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, Russian world No. 28 Anastasia Potapova and former Roland Garros quarter-finalist Veronika Kudermetova, who is also from Russia.
ATP players include world No. 15 Karen Khachanov of Russia, Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and France’s Adrian Mannarino, according to the event’s website.
Several fans had voiced their concerns on social media about the players who have committed to play at the event, especially as both the WTA and the ATP have suspended staging tournaments in Russia.
Some were quick to call out the governing bodies for their inaction, which has now been explained by both organisations. One user did not hold back, as the players were criticised as “nasty traitors and hypocrites”.
St. Petersburg used to host a regular ATP 250 event but it was abolished in the wake of the Russian invasion and moved to Kazakhstan from 2022 onwards.
A WTA 500 event, the St. Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy, was also moved to Ostrava in the north-east of the Czech Republic that same year.
More than 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country, the U.N. Human Rights Office said last week, with the war showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. REUTERS
