Tennis Australia has confirmed that athletes from Russia and Belarus will be able to compete at the 2023 Australian Open, despite calls to ban them from the first Grand Slam of the year, nine.com.au reports.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Miroshnichenko called on Tennis Australia to follow the example of Wimbledon and ban athletes from Russia and Belarus.

“I will try to arrange a meeting with the President of Tennis Australia to inform him of my Government’s position and to understand why Tennis Australia did not follow the example of Wimbledon. Every missile attack on Ukraine occurs only because the citizens of Russia support Putin’s regime. There is no room for neutrality in the face of war crimes.” said the ambassadorquoted by News.ro.

Players from Russia and Belarus will be able to participate in the Australian Open 2023

Tennis Australia condemned the war in Ukraine, but clarified that athletes from Russia and Belarus can participate in the Australian Open under certain conditions.

“Tennis Australia supports the international tennis forums – Grand Slam, ATP, WTA and ITF – in condemning the actions of Russia and the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

In March 2022, tennis forums issued a statement in which they expressed their shock and sadness, as well as their commitment to support the people of Ukraine. Russia and Belarus were immediately suspended from all tennis competitions, and the ATP and WTA competitions in these countries were canceled.

Players from Russia and Belarus will be able to participate in international individual tennis tournaments without flag or country recognition, as will be the case at the Australian Open 2023.” explained Tennis Australia.

The forum noted that it continues to support Ukraine and Ukrainian athletes, in particular through the global initiative “Tennis for Peace”.