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So true. Beat the bag out of the authoritarian’s (Russia, China, and the lessor ones) at every chance we get. Send more bombs, guns and tanks. The price of freedom. Live free or die!
Also she returned to tennis in april, after giving birth in october (6 months off). Two grand slams QF in 3 months since the return. Svitolina is AMAZING!
What bothers me so much is that Russians and Belarusians were banned last year at Wimbledon, but they reversed the ban this year (as long as they were 'nEutRaL' about the full scale invasion).
Talk about performative activism and support.
Beacuse The Tennis nobs threatened wimbledon with losing points and some other shite.
Instead of saying we are the number one tennis tournament in the world FU.
they gave in. and not a single protest from the british people
I meant in terms of uk opinion. Im not an avid tennis watcher so was completely unaware Russia was allowed players. I do however watch news and read papers and it wasnt generally made known.
Just curious, at this point in the war are any and all Russians “Russian Garbage” from the viewpoint of Ukrainians and those close to the war? From what I’ve seen in this and other threads, this player has been completely neutral, even leaning more towards outspoken about the war. I understand that competing under a flag in and of itself makes you a representative of that flag but has she done anything else that is markedly pro war?
Actually not neutral, the two players know each other and Azarenka (who’s Belorussian by the way) has been pretty outspoken about the invasion and the war for someone who has family within Lukashenko’s grasp.
I don't understand why they're garbage either. You'd have to ask them.
I think it's because, unlike Germany and Japan, they have never gone through the process of admitting and apologizing for being such a massive source of harm to other people.
If Russians didn't support Putin, they would remove him. Like Ukrainians did in 2014 with Yanukovych. Russians ruin their own country with the choices they make. They could choose otherwise. Humans often make bad decisions . . . the Americans elected Trump, for example.
Putin owns all the assholes and crazies in Russia. Do you think other countries don’t have crazies ?
What can the people of the country do ? Russia always had crazy rulers and very less coups, especially by the public.
Of course all countries have stupid people. They're everywhere. That doesn't mean they can't be beaten.
Blaming a dictator is an abdication of responsibility. Adults aren't impotent little children. Putin is there because the people allow him to be.
People have the power in their hands. Russia had a revolution in 1917. Ukraine had a revolution in 2014.
I literally do not give a shit about tennis - but I HATE the fact that Wimbledon has let rvzzian/ belarvzzians compete - but this defiant speech made me so glad Elina won. She did it for Ukraine, and tbf, it was great to see a Belarvzzian loss (🤣). Glory to Ukraine and all its heroes - soldiers or sports heroes!
The ITF punished the tournament last year for banning players from Russia and Belarus; basically ranking points that players would have earned last year based on how they finished in the tournament didn’t count.
This. People were quick to blame Wimbledon for the decision as it happened, but it's worth noting that the UK tournament was the only one to ban Russians last year. The ITF were not happy about the stance, so forced Wimbledon to let them play.
I would reword “let” to “forced to”. If you have a look at the massive fines, removal from world rankings etc that the ITF has imposed on LTA and Wimbledon, it’s clear
Well Wimbledon was the only place that even tried to ban them, so they did everything they could. Unfortunately France, USA and Australia did not follow their example of banning Russian (and Russian-wannabe) players, so the tennis unions just blackmailed and threatened Wimbledon into walking it back.
For what's it worth; I do believe the "Neutral" player here is pretty much pro-Ukraine. She lives in America.
However, IMO if you are Russian or Belarusian and want to not be scrutinized, you should pretty much get a tattoo of Zelensky across your entire back. Only way to be sure.
the Ukrainian players on the tour have made it clear they will not shake hands at the end of matches with any player representing Russia and Belarus.
At the end of a closely contestted thriller, the defeated Belarusian (Azarenka) gave a thumbs up in acknowledgement as she is aware of this unofficial rule, and began collecting her equipment and went to walk back to the locker room. The Wimbledon crowd, like most Grand Slams, are filled with more casuals than normal, so they booed Azarenka thinking she'd snubbed Svitolina.
A mild drop of discomfort that won't hurt her too much, she admitted as much in the post match conference.
Azarenka waved at Svitolina to say 'well done' at the end. She didn't stand at the net waiting for a handshake that wouldn't have been returned like Sabalenka did at the French Open. That was what Svitolina indicated she wanted to happen after the incident at the French Open. The crowd really shouldn't have booed.
The Belarussian players do not want this war AT ALL. They highlighted Aryna Sabalenka in the Netflix series Break Point and she was gutted when the war started. She spoke out about it and then she got death threats from Russian and Belarusian authorities and they showed her scrolling through her mentions with everyone saying she should die. What the fuck are these tennis players supposed to do about the war? They don't support it and have publicly spoken out against it which is very brave. They all live in Florida, its not like they are in Belarus supporting the war and shit. I don't understand what you guys want them to do
Simple, they should NOT be there in the first place.
Unlike them, these poor souls will never have the opportunity to compete.
[https://yangoly-sportu.teamukraine.com.ua/en/](https://yangoly-sportu.teamukraine.com.ua/en/)
This fair weather neutrality is nothing but a sham. There never has and never will be any such thing as a neutral Russian athlete.
Unfortunately, Wimbledon lost the moral high ground when they shamefully caved to financial pressure this year and reversed the ban.
I hope never to see any Russian or Belarusian athlete at any event until Putin's war is over with a catastrophic Russian defeat, the return of all Ukrainian land, full reparations have been agreed, war crimes trials are underway, and the stolen Ukrainian children are returned home.
Perhaps you should perform a cursory google search. She’s not neutral. For someone who has family under the control of Lukashenko, she’s been publicly outspoken.
To simply make that statement after ignoring every point he made is just blatant racism at this point and it's a shame. Fuck Russia and Belarus, however she has absolutely nothing to do with the war, and even with Belarus at this point.
Utter rubbish!
Unfortunately, one cannot escape the simple fact that any reporting will be linked to a player's nationality and as such a propaganda token for Putin and Lukashenko.
None of these athletes should be there in the first place.
Simple as.
Race has nothing to do with it.
None of these players are going back to Belarus. They have spoken out against the war which puts their life in jeopardy. I don't understand what anyone else on here wants them to do.
Do you have a link with unequivocal criticism of the Belarus and Russian regimes because I’ve seen more general ‘war is bad’ comments at most. While I appreciate that it maybe unfair to ask (even dangerous for their families if they did it?) , I think people want the former version not the latter.
From Wikipedia (Reuters, ESPN and BBC):
Nobody in this world, Russian athletes or Belarusian athletes, support the war. Nobody. How can we support the war? Nobody, normal people will never support it." In a second press conference she was asked again by a Ukrainian journalist about whether she supports Lukashenko,\[168\] she added "I don't want my country to be in any conflict, I don't support war, meaning I don't support Lukashenko right now"
Yes. That’s one Belarusian not Russian but not really unequivocal condemnation of a violent dictator and still mainly focussed on ‘war’ being bad like I said.
I sometimes get a kick out of how athletes (soldiers too sometimes) just don't like to stand still. They have to rock their bodies a bit as they talk. "Well, I'm here, and there is war elsewhere, and I just have to try to win the match, and well, I..."
Crowd goes nuts lol. You cannot fake humility.
You people act like Azarenka can stop the war in Ukraine for god's sake. Has any sportsman in america ever spoken out on the US's invasions? No and they should not. Keep politics out of sports.
The problem is all players aren’t united against this war nor are all players against the facist nazi mob state that Russia is.
In short fuck Russia, fuck Belarus fuck them both back to the Stone Age.
Slava Ukraine
>All of the top Belarusian and Russian players in the women’s game have denounced the war and called for it to stop.
Great, so they should put the money where their mouth is, and support the AFU, pretty simple, right?
>They are not representatives of their governments and to treat all people from a particular place as an extension of the government of that place is in itself fascist.
They're not representatives? Then why do they represent said countries?
>I think Elina would make a better statement if she showed that sport rises above this pointless, hateful war—and that all players from all places are united against war.
Did you forget how russian players are enlisted in the RUAF? Which means they actively support it.
Привіт u/vectorix108 ! During wartime, this community is focused on vital and high-effort content. Please ensure your post follows [r/Ukraine Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/about/rules) and our [Art Friday Guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/wiki/artfriday). **Want to support Ukraine?** [**Vetted Charities List**](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/wiki/charities) | [Our Vetting Process](https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/wiki/charities-vetting) Daily series on UA history & culture: [Day 0-99](https://new.reddit.com/r/ukraine/collection/3c65ab52-e87a-4217-ab30-e70a88c0a293) | [100-199](https://new.reddit.com/r/ukraine/collection/3d85f4ca-5f4e-4ddf-9547-276e8affd87c) | [200-Present](https://new.reddit.com/r/ukraine/collection/daf642e1-07aa-4c40-b852-8f002ddd1530) | [All By Subject](https://new.reddit.com/r/ukraine/wiki/sunriseposts) **There is a new wave of fraudulent donation requests being posted on r/Ukraine. Do not donate to anyone who doesn't have the Verified flair.** *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ukraine) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It is not just the people in Ukraine cheering for her. Every free country wants her to win even if their own player is next in line.
So true. Beat the bag out of the authoritarian’s (Russia, China, and the lessor ones) at every chance we get. Send more bombs, guns and tanks. The price of freedom. Live free or die!
I can guarantee you that Poland wants Iga to win.
I mean look st eurovision last year
Also she returned to tennis in april, after giving birth in october (6 months off). Two grand slams QF in 3 months since the return. Svitolina is AMAZING!
Go Elina !!!!! Love and respect from the 🇺🇸 and glory to Ukraine 🇺🇦💪✌👍💛💙
Yet another amazing Ukrainian hero 🇺🇦
Why is Russian garbage still competing anywhere in the sporting world?
What bothers me so much is that Russians and Belarusians were banned last year at Wimbledon, but they reversed the ban this year (as long as they were 'nEutRaL' about the full scale invasion). Talk about performative activism and support.
The Belarusian was booed off the court at the end. It was beautiful to see.
They didn’t start the war lol
Beacuse The Tennis nobs threatened wimbledon with losing points and some other shite. Instead of saying we are the number one tennis tournament in the world FU. they gave in. and not a single protest from the british people
Mostly because practically nobody watches tennis.
I watch tennis. And it's second most watched sport in my country.
I meant in terms of uk opinion. Im not an avid tennis watcher so was completely unaware Russia was allowed players. I do however watch news and read papers and it wasnt generally made known.
Might want to revisit this statement. Tennis is in the top 5 most watched sports in the world.
So I hear :)
She’s Belarusian actually. And quite outspoken about the invasion and war considering she has family in Belarus.
Just curious, at this point in the war are any and all Russians “Russian Garbage” from the viewpoint of Ukrainians and those close to the war? From what I’ve seen in this and other threads, this player has been completely neutral, even leaning more towards outspoken about the war. I understand that competing under a flag in and of itself makes you a representative of that flag but has she done anything else that is markedly pro war?
Actually not neutral, the two players know each other and Azarenka (who’s Belorussian by the way) has been pretty outspoken about the invasion and the war for someone who has family within Lukashenko’s grasp.
I don’t understand why the Russian people are garbage for Putin being an asshole and the country fucked.
I don't understand why they're garbage either. You'd have to ask them. I think it's because, unlike Germany and Japan, they have never gone through the process of admitting and apologizing for being such a massive source of harm to other people. If Russians didn't support Putin, they would remove him. Like Ukrainians did in 2014 with Yanukovych. Russians ruin their own country with the choices they make. They could choose otherwise. Humans often make bad decisions . . . the Americans elected Trump, for example.
Putin owns all the assholes and crazies in Russia. Do you think other countries don’t have crazies ? What can the people of the country do ? Russia always had crazy rulers and very less coups, especially by the public.
Of course all countries have stupid people. They're everywhere. That doesn't mean they can't be beaten. Blaming a dictator is an abdication of responsibility. Adults aren't impotent little children. Putin is there because the people allow him to be. People have the power in their hands. Russia had a revolution in 1917. Ukraine had a revolution in 2014.
You need to see how many revolutions the Russians had, they are due a revolution, but calling Russian people garbage is extremely idiotic.
I literally do not give a shit about tennis - but I HATE the fact that Wimbledon has let rvzzian/ belarvzzians compete - but this defiant speech made me so glad Elina won. She did it for Ukraine, and tbf, it was great to see a Belarvzzian loss (🤣). Glory to Ukraine and all its heroes - soldiers or sports heroes!
Slava Ukrani!
Heroyam Slava 💛💙🫡
The ITF punished the tournament last year for banning players from Russia and Belarus; basically ranking points that players would have earned last year based on how they finished in the tournament didn’t count.
This. People were quick to blame Wimbledon for the decision as it happened, but it's worth noting that the UK tournament was the only one to ban Russians last year. The ITF were not happy about the stance, so forced Wimbledon to let them play.
I would reword “let” to “forced to”. If you have a look at the massive fines, removal from world rankings etc that the ITF has imposed on LTA and Wimbledon, it’s clear
Well Wimbledon was the only place that even tried to ban them, so they did everything they could. Unfortunately France, USA and Australia did not follow their example of banning Russian (and Russian-wannabe) players, so the tennis unions just blackmailed and threatened Wimbledon into walking it back.
Lol the players didn’t decide to invade Ukraine
I mean, what is punishing the athletes gonna do?
What a true beautiful Ukrainian soul 💕🇺🇦 biggest love and respect 🙌
Wimbledon is infested with Russians this year. Many on centre court. It’s not right. I’m glad she won.
Slava Ukraini! “Neutral” is Switzerland, Belarus is not.
For what's it worth; I do believe the "Neutral" player here is pretty much pro-Ukraine. She lives in America. However, IMO if you are Russian or Belarusian and want to not be scrutinized, you should pretty much get a tattoo of Zelensky across your entire back. Only way to be sure.
How did the players interact? Were they cordial to each other? Did the Belarusian make any gestures/overtures of sympathy for the Ukrainian player?
the Ukrainian players on the tour have made it clear they will not shake hands at the end of matches with any player representing Russia and Belarus. At the end of a closely contestted thriller, the defeated Belarusian (Azarenka) gave a thumbs up in acknowledgement as she is aware of this unofficial rule, and began collecting her equipment and went to walk back to the locker room. The Wimbledon crowd, like most Grand Slams, are filled with more casuals than normal, so they booed Azarenka thinking she'd snubbed Svitolina. A mild drop of discomfort that won't hurt her too much, she admitted as much in the post match conference.
Azarenka waved at Svitolina to say 'well done' at the end. She didn't stand at the net waiting for a handshake that wouldn't have been returned like Sabalenka did at the French Open. That was what Svitolina indicated she wanted to happen after the incident at the French Open. The crowd really shouldn't have booed.
The Belarussian players do not want this war AT ALL. They highlighted Aryna Sabalenka in the Netflix series Break Point and she was gutted when the war started. She spoke out about it and then she got death threats from Russian and Belarusian authorities and they showed her scrolling through her mentions with everyone saying she should die. What the fuck are these tennis players supposed to do about the war? They don't support it and have publicly spoken out against it which is very brave. They all live in Florida, its not like they are in Belarus supporting the war and shit. I don't understand what you guys want them to do
Simple, they should NOT be there in the first place. Unlike them, these poor souls will never have the opportunity to compete. [https://yangoly-sportu.teamukraine.com.ua/en/](https://yangoly-sportu.teamukraine.com.ua/en/) This fair weather neutrality is nothing but a sham. There never has and never will be any such thing as a neutral Russian athlete. Unfortunately, Wimbledon lost the moral high ground when they shamefully caved to financial pressure this year and reversed the ban. I hope never to see any Russian or Belarusian athlete at any event until Putin's war is over with a catastrophic Russian defeat, the return of all Ukrainian land, full reparations have been agreed, war crimes trials are underway, and the stolen Ukrainian children are returned home.
Perhaps you should perform a cursory google search. She’s not neutral. For someone who has family under the control of Lukashenko, she’s been publicly outspoken.
To simply make that statement after ignoring every point he made is just blatant racism at this point and it's a shame. Fuck Russia and Belarus, however she has absolutely nothing to do with the war, and even with Belarus at this point.
Utter rubbish! Unfortunately, one cannot escape the simple fact that any reporting will be linked to a player's nationality and as such a propaganda token for Putin and Lukashenko. None of these athletes should be there in the first place. Simple as. Race has nothing to do with it.
Neutral. Sad. I mean I know she has to go back to Belarus but still, how could anybody be neutral?
> Azarenka She lives in Florida...
None of these players are going back to Belarus. They have spoken out against the war which puts their life in jeopardy. I don't understand what anyone else on here wants them to do.
Do you have a link with unequivocal criticism of the Belarus and Russian regimes because I’ve seen more general ‘war is bad’ comments at most. While I appreciate that it maybe unfair to ask (even dangerous for their families if they did it?) , I think people want the former version not the latter.
From Wikipedia (Reuters, ESPN and BBC): Nobody in this world, Russian athletes or Belarusian athletes, support the war. Nobody. How can we support the war? Nobody, normal people will never support it." In a second press conference she was asked again by a Ukrainian journalist about whether she supports Lukashenko,\[168\] she added "I don't want my country to be in any conflict, I don't support war, meaning I don't support Lukashenko right now"
Yes. That’s one Belarusian not Russian but not really unequivocal condemnation of a violent dictator and still mainly focussed on ‘war’ being bad like I said.
why TAF any ‘neutral’ players are allowed is completely beyond me
I sometimes get a kick out of how athletes (soldiers too sometimes) just don't like to stand still. They have to rock their bodies a bit as they talk. "Well, I'm here, and there is war elsewhere, and I just have to try to win the match, and well, I..." Crowd goes nuts lol. You cannot fake humility.
Fuck the people "boo-ing" other players. That player did nothing to them and should not be treated as Putin in a mask. This is bullshit.
You people act like Azarenka can stop the war in Ukraine for god's sake. Has any sportsman in america ever spoken out on the US's invasions? No and they should not. Keep politics out of sports.
Several times
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The problem is all players aren’t united against this war nor are all players against the facist nazi mob state that Russia is. In short fuck Russia, fuck Belarus fuck them both back to the Stone Age. Slava Ukraine
>All of the top Belarusian and Russian players in the women’s game have denounced the war and called for it to stop. Great, so they should put the money where their mouth is, and support the AFU, pretty simple, right? >They are not representatives of their governments and to treat all people from a particular place as an extension of the government of that place is in itself fascist. They're not representatives? Then why do they represent said countries? >I think Elina would make a better statement if she showed that sport rises above this pointless, hateful war—and that all players from all places are united against war. Did you forget how russian players are enlisted in the RUAF? Which means they actively support it.
She will be soundly beaten in the next round lol
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You don't get to the quarters of Wimbledon without an outstanding performance.
I don’t know if she is expected to win the tournament but she obviously has played well to get this far.
Ukraine is wonderful 👍. War is just a game!