Throughout history, athletes have competed against each other, very often under the flag of their country of origin. In fact, the Olympics and the World Cup are just two of many examples where nations are directly competing in an organized manner that deliberately heightens and celebrates their national achievements year after year. Beating a rival nation is the name of the game and a source of deep, lasting national pride. And except for a few horrific incidents, in general the athletes behave respectfully toward each other on the pitch. (The fans are another matter).
And yet, now the world of professional tennis is in an uproar due to the announcement by Wimbledon – which is often a solo actor in terms of its independence from the other “majors” – that tennis players from Russia and Belarus will be banned from playing in the tournament this year due to the invasion, slaughter and destruction by Russian forces in Ukraine.
As the Executive Director of the Center for Respectful Leadership, I’m conflicted about this decision. As a tennis nut who loves watching the superstars do amazing things, I’m annoyed.
On the one hand, except for special tournaments like the Olympics or the Davis Cup where nations are deliberately pitted against each other, tennis players typically do not represent their own country when they compete. Most of the time, a player is out on the court just representing themselves (and, of course, their sponsors). And, in general, they have zero influence on what their country does in terms of going to war, or not.
So, I empathize with players like world number two U.S Open Champion Daniil Medvedev and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka (ranked 4th in the world), and many others who are now unable to compete in one of the most important, high profile tournaments of the year. To say these players must feel deeply disrespected by Wimbledon would be an understatement; especially the ones who have openly spoken out against the war like Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Andrey Rublev.
On the other hand, I also empathize with tournament organizers who are aware that every time a player competes, their nationality is repeatedly mentioned and broadcast, and in some cases their flag is posted next to their name on scoreboards and on TV graphics. As a result, many fans automatically frame the competition in terms of a player’s nationality. Just look at how all of Serbia reacted when one of their own – Novak Djokovic – was not allowed to compete in the Australian Open; it was as if Australia had declared war.
Organizers are also painfully aware that their event is watched around the world and that what they say and do reflects more broadly on their event and its long and unique history. So, it would be, at the very least, unseemly for them to award a check and a trophy to a player who hails from a pariah nation. It would send the wrong message. And some sponsors might not be particularly happy either.
Honestly, I don’t see a satisfactory solution here. Having Russian and Belarus players compete without indication or mention of their home country, or not playing their national anthem if they win, just won’t cut it. It seems disrespectful, everyone knows where they’re from, and fans will be talking about it no matter what.
In short, the players from Russia and Belarus are essentially screwed out of competing in one of the most important tournaments of the season. They, and their sponsors, are not going to be happy. And the tournament organizers have now engendered the outrage of many fans and sponsors as well. What’s perhaps most annoying is that neither the players nor the organizers are at fault in any way. But they’ve been put into a difficult position by Putin and Russia and they’re trying to do the best they can.
So, Wimbledon has done what it’s done, and one wonders if the other majors will follow suit. We’ll see. But I think we can all agree, for the tennis world, it sucks no matter how you look at it. But, of course, it’s a relatively minor cultural problem that pales in comparison to what’s happening in Ukraine. Let’s not take our eyes off of that ball either.
https://www.si.com/tennis/2022/04/20/wimbledon-ban-players-russia-belarus-unacceptable
