The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has extended invitations to eight top Russian tennis players, including Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, and Roman Safiullin, to compete as neutral athletes at the upcoming Paris Olympics. Joining them are Belarusian players Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka. However, the invitations have not been universally accepted.
Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, has already announced her decision to skip the Olympics due to a scheduling conflict. She plans to transition from Wimbledon on grass to the clay courts of the Olympics, followed by the hard courts of the US Open in August, making the shift too taxing.
Rublev, meanwhile, has reportedly cited health reasons for his absence from the Games.
This news marks the latest development in the IOC’s ongoing process of determining which athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete in individual Olympic sports. The IOC has implemented a vetting procedure to ensure that athletes who have expressed support for the invasion of Ukraine or have ties to the military or state security services are barred from participation.
Russia and Belarus have already been excluded from team sports at the Paris Games, which are scheduled to begin on July 26th. Earlier this month, the IOC announced that a first round of invitations had been extended to 14 Russian and 11 Belarusian athletes across various sports, including cycling, weightlifting, and wrestling. Some of these invitations have also been declined.
On Thursday, the IOC extended invitations to two Belarusian athletes in rowing and two in shooting, but none in modern pentathlon. Notably, Russia does not hold entry quota places in these three sports.
The exact number of Russian athletes who will ultimately compete in the Olympics remains uncertain. The IOC has already implemented a restriction preventing Russian athletes from participating in the opening ceremony parade, scheduled to take place on boats sailing along the River Seine.
