Michael Stich: "Wimbledon sends the wrong signal"
Former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich has criticized the Wimbledon organizers' decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tournament.
by SID
last edit: Apr 23, 2022, 06:21 pm
"In my opinion, Wimbledon sends the wrong signal," said Stich in a guest comment on tennismagazin.de . The step is incomprehensible and unacceptable.
The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine "cannot be justified by anything and is causing suffering to so many people through no fault of their own," said Stich. Nevertheless, one cannot "discriminate against a person because of their origin and their country of birth". Just because a professional comes from Russia or Belarus does not mean that he approves and supports the actions of his government: "He just wants to play tennis and do his job."
According to Stich, it would send a much bigger signal if the players sent a common message during the tournament. The 53-year-old has asked the International Tennis Hall of Fame to make a statement on the Wimbledon decision. "A statement in the spirit of sport could be an important signal without becoming too political. And it would express that tennis is a sport of togetherness and cohesion," said Stich.