'Lift Russia, Belarus ban', former Tennis great Billie Jean King urges Wimbledon

Tennis legend Billie Jean King has urged Wimbledon to lift the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, who were forbidden from participating in the tournament last year.

King, speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Australian open said 'life is too short' for such a ban to be imposed on the players of the two countries.

"Just keep it the same way as the other ones are. Life is too short. I think they should get prize money. Just have them play and get their money," said King.

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King, a six-time Wimbledon champion referred to players not receiving the ranking points due to the ban.

Last year's Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina who was born in Russia and switched allegiance to Kazakhstan in 2018 was denied the 2000 points and as a result, was seeded 22nd in the opening Grand Slam of the year.

"It's the ranking points, for sure. They have to have it. Rybakina, they've seeded her 22, but because she won Wimbledon she's not (seeded higher)."

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Notably, after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Russian and Belarusian players were barred from participating in Wimbledon Grand Slam.

"We believe we have made the most responsible decision possible in the circumstances. And that within the framework of the governance position, there`s no viable alternative to the decision we have taken in this truly exceptional and tragic situation," said Ian Hewitt, chairman, All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) at the time.

Read more: Wimbledon defends ban on Russian players, confirms Covid vaccination not mandatory for participation

Earlier this month, controversy erupted in Melbourne Park when Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko complained about spotting the Russian flag in the stands.

He took to Twitter and complained about the ban as Russian and Belarusian athletes are competing under neutral flags.

"I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during the game of the Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Baindl at the Australian Open today. I call on Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its 'neutral flag' policy," he tweeted.

Read more: Russian and Belarusian flags banned from Australian Open after Ukraine's complaint

Afterwards, Tennis Australia released a statement saying the flags from the two countries were outright banned now.

"Our initial policy was that fans could bring them in but could not use them to cause disruption. Yesterday we had an incident where a flag was placed courtside."

After Tennis Australia's decision, the Russian embassy in Australia released a statement as well and slammed the tournament organisers for their partisan behaviour.

(With inputs from agencies)

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