The United States Tennis Association has announced that players from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to play at this year’s US Open, with the condition that they would do so under a neutral flag. This is coming two months after it was announced that Russian and Belarusian players would be banned from Wimbledon and some other grass-court tournaments in the UK.

The ban is connected to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has now lasted well over 100 days. Several other competitions and sports have banned Russian and Belarusian athletes as a form of protest over the invasion.

The statement from the USTA reads: “The USTA will allow individual athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in the 2022 US Open, but only under a neutral flag.

“Alongside the other Grand Slams, the ITF, the ATP, and the WTA, the USTA, which owns and operates the US Open, has previously condemned and continues to condemn the unprovoked and unjust invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

“The USTA, standing with these other tennis entities, supported the banning of the Russian and Belarusian Tennis Federations from the ITF, and therefore all international team competitions, and the directive for players from those countries to play under a neutral flag when competing outside of international team competitions.”

The recent development means that Russian Daniil Medvedev would be allowed to defend his title, which he won last year after defeating world number one, Novak Djokovic. Medvedev was the one who denied Djokovic the chance to complete four Grand Slams in one calendar year.

Competing under a neutral flag means that Russian and Belarusian players would not be able to claim victory for their countries. Some other events and sports have also adopted this method as an alternative rather than an outright ban on the athletes.

Written by: Leon Osamor