Tennis\u2019s body said its stance remained unchanged despite IOC decision
\n PARIS
\nThe International Tennis Federation (ITF) said Friday that the IOC\u2019s move to lift restrictions on Belarusian athletes does not affect Belarus\u2019s continued ban from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.
\nIn a statement sent to AFP, world tennis\u2019s governing body said its stance remained unchanged despite the International Olympic Committee\u2019s decision to lift its ban on Belarus.
\n\u201cThe International Tennis Federation confirms that the IOC\u2019s announcement does not change its existing position regarding the Belarus and Russian Tennis Federations\u2019 suspensions, which remain in place,\u201d the ITF wrote.
\nAthletes from Russia and its ally Belarus had been banned from international competition following Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although some were permitted to compete as neutrals.
\nRestrictions on Russian athletes remain in place under IOC rules.
\nThe ITF said its position on Belarus would be reviewed later in the year.
\n\u201cThe membership status of the Belarus Tennis Federation will be considered at the ITF Annual General Meeting in October by the ITF\u2019s voting member nations in accordance with ITF constitutional process,\u201d the organisation said. The ITF oversees major international team competitions such as the Davis Cup and the BJK Cup. It also organises Olympic tennis events in conjunction with the IOC.
\nThe participation of Russian and Belarusian players on the professional tour depends on decisions taken separately by the ATP, the WTA and the organisers of the four Grand Slam tournaments.
\nWorld number one Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday said she hoped she would be able to play tennis again under the Belarusian flag.
\n\u201cFor me representing such a small country, and the hard work that I had to do to get to the top, it\u2019s just like, guys, it\u2019s incredible, it\u2019s a small country, and to make it all the way here, it means a lot to me,\u201d said Sabalenka.
\n\u201cI would be super proud to represent Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tennis\u2019s body said its stance remained unchanged despite IOC decision PARIS The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said Friday that the IOC\u2019s move to lift restrictions on Belarusian athletes does not affect Belarus\u2019s continued ban from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup. In a statement sent to AFP, world tennis\u2019s governing body said its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428632,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-545475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n