Tennis is taking a stand on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
Tennis' governing bodies—the ITF, ATP and WTA—today announced a series of sanctions against Russia, which invaded its neighbor Ukraine on February 24th.
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Russia, the defending Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup champions, have been booted out of both International Tennis Federation team competitions along with Belraus, whose leader has publicly backed Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression in Ukraine.
The Moscow tournament has been cancelled. Russian and Belarusian players will not be permitted to compete under the flag of Russia or Belarus until further notice.
The game's governing bodies issues this joint statement on sanctions against Russia:
"The safety of the tennis community is our most immediate collective priority," the ITF said in a statement. "The focus of the WTA and ATP in particular in recent days has been on contacting current and former players, and other members of the tennis community from Ukraine and neighbouring countries, to check on their safety and offer any assistance.
"The international governing bodies of tennis stand united in our condemnation of Russia’s actions and, as a result, are in agreement with the following decisions and actions:
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The WTA and ATP Boards have made the decision to suspend the WTA / ATP combined event, scheduled this October in Moscow.
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The ITF Board has made the decision to suspend the Russian Tennis Federation and Belarus Tennis Federation membership and to withdraw their entries from all ITF international team competition until further notice.
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This action follows the cancellation of all ITF tournaments in Russia and Belarus indefinitely. At this time, players from Russia and Belarus will continue to be allowed to compete in international tennis events on Tour and at the Grand Slams. However, they will not compete under the name or flag of Russia or Belarus until further notice."