Both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic slammed Wimbledon’s move to ban Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament this year over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The two tennis stars, speaking from the Madrid Open on Sunday, called Wimbledon’s decision “very unfair.”
“It’s not their fault what’s happening in this moment with the war,” Nadal said, via The Associated Press. “I’m sorry for them. Wimbledon just took their decision … The government didn’t force them to do it.”
Wimbledon announced last month that players from Russia and Belarus can’t compete at Wimbledon due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which has now been going on for more than two months.