Belarus’ top tennis players to compete at Paris Olympics as neutrals

March 7, Pozirk. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has allowed tennis players from Belarus and Russia to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics in a neutral status, says a statement released on March 6.

Aryna Sabalenka (ranked 2 by the WTA) and Viktoryja Azaranka (30) are expected to qualify.

In February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that athletes and officials from Belarus and Russia should be excluded from international competitions after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. This recommendation was implemented immediately and on a mass scale.

However, tennis players from both countries continued competing in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments.

In late March 2023, the IOC recommended the return of Belarusian and Russian athletes to international competitions in a neutral status and only if they are not actively involved in supporting military operations and are not contracted to the military.

Several international sports federations complied with the IOC recommendations and agreed to allow athletes from Belarus and Russia to compete.

At the same time, Belarusian athletes who supported the 2020 postelection protests were forced to stop their professional careers. Only three Belarusian dissident athletes, who obtained Polish sports citizenship, may qualify for the Paris Olympics: horse rider Volha Safronava, track and field athletes Kryścina Cimanoŭskaja and Maryja Žodzik.