Three weeks after his emotional message against the war in Ukraine, Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev expressed his wish on Friday that the world of sports can set an example of unity by staying out of this “terrible” conflict.
“All I can say is that, of course, it's terrible what is happening. I feel really bad for everyone,” said Rublev after sealing his qualification to the semifinals of the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells (California).
Rublev, like the rest of the Russian players and also the Belarusians, cannot compete in the tournament under the national symbols of his country in Indian Wells, where the Ukrainian flag flies at the top of the center court as a gesture of solidarity.
These guidelines were issued by the governing bodies of world sport on March 1, which allowed Russian and Belarusian tennis players to continue to participate “for the time being” in the events of the ATP (men) and WTA (women) circuits.
This measure was considered insufficient by some of her colleagues, such as Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, number 54 in the WTA ranking.
Rublev and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova are among the few Russian tennis players who have spoken out directly against the Moscow military offensive.
The messages of some others have been considered more lukewarm, such as those of Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev, who has limited himself to generic calls for peace.
- “Out of politics” -
On Friday, Rublev said that sport can send a valuable message of unity and must remain out of political conflicts.
“Sport has to be an example, we have to be united, we have to be outside politics, show an example at least within sport,” said the 24-year-old tennis player. “I think it would be a good message for a better world.”
The number 7 in the world ranking assured that it is being selective in following news reports about the conflict, widely condemned by the international community and that it has caused more than 3.1 million people to flee Ukraine.
The tennis player also referred to British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston's suggestion about a possible ban on Russian players from participating in Wimbledon if they refuse to “denounce” President Vladimir Putin's invasion.
“Speaking of the British government, as I said earlier, I think we should show a great example that tennis should be outside politics,” he said.
Rublev also admitted that he did not expect the huge response from his message “No to War”, which he wrote on a camera lens during the Dubai tournament on February 25, just one day after the start of the invasion.
“I didn't even think about how many people will see this or where it will go or something,” he said. “I only wrote what I felt at the time. That's all.”
“Then somehow it had more than 22 million views. I think I was one of the first athletes in the world to say this,” he said.
Rubrev, second seed in the running at Indian Wells after favorite Rafael Nadal, will face Californian Taylor Fritz in the semifinals on Saturday.
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