French Tennis Federation Says Russians, Belarusians Allowed To Roland-Garros

Russian and Belarusian athletes will be let participate in the French Open tennis tournament (Roland-Garros), subject to their adherence to a "strict neutrality," French Tennis Federation chief Gilles Moretton said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th April, 2022) Russian and Belarusian athletes will be let participate in the French Open tennis tournament (Roland-Garros), subject to their adherence to a "strict neutrality," French Tennis Federation chief Gilles Moretton said on Friday.

"The stance has not changed. As of today, we are complying with the declaration of March 9, 2022 of all EU sports ministries and other signatories, which is aimed at introducing a strict neutrality regulation for Russian and Belarusian athletes - neither a flag, nor an anthem," Moretton said, as quoted by French sports daily L'Equipe.

The French tennis federation chief declined to comment on the ban of Russian and Belarusian tennis players by the UK's Wimbledon last week over Russia's operation in Ukraine, saying that every country has its own stance.

The Roland-Garros tennis tournament will be held from May 22 to June 5.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response, the EU rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow, which includes airspace closures and restrictive measures targeting numerous Russian officials and entities, media, and financial institutions.