Commentary: Why French Open allowed Russian tennis players to compete

MIDDLESBROUGH, England: The world’s best tennis players are on the court at the 2022 French Open, the first Grand Slam tournament since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February. Unlike Wimbledon 2022, the French Open has decided to let Russian and Belarusian players compete.

The French Open’s decision is in line with other tennis tournaments since the Russian invasion, which have allowed Russian and Belarusian players to participate. 

This outcome may partly be due to the backlash from players and from the governing body of world tennis, the International Tennis Federation (ITF), after the All England Lawn and Tennis Club and the Lawn Tennis Association banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing in all of the British grass court tournaments in 2022, including the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London.

The French Open organisers agreed that individual athletes from Russia and Belarus could compete without flags or national anthems. French tennis federation president Gilles Moretton said: “We are in line with the declaration of Mar 9, 2022, by all the sports ministries of the European Union and other signatory countries, which aims to impose on Russian and Belarusian athletes a regime of strict neutrality.”

If Russian or Belarusian players do show support for the war, there will be sanctions, according to French Open tour director Amelie Mauresmo.

Meanwhile, the Russian and Belarusian national teams have been banned by the ITF from international team competitions. 

So far, the crowds in Paris have not shown any animosity to any of the Russian or Belarusian players. For instance, the 2021 US Open champion, Russian Daniil Medvedev, was applauded during his