Daily Times

NEW YORK: Players from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete in the 2022 US Open under a neutral flag, the US Tennis Association announced Wednesday. “The USTA will allow all eligible players, regardless of nationality, to compete at the 2022 US Open,” the organization said in a statement. The move comes after the ATP and WTA stripped Wimbledon of ranking points after the grass-court Grand Slam tournament banned Russian and Belarusians. Ukrainian former player Sergiy Stakhovsky immediately condemned the US Open decision. “You cannot put a price tag on being able to live with yourself,” tweeted Stakhovsky, who retired from tennis earlier this year and has joined Ukraine’s reserve forces in Kyiv. “I salute Wimbledon, the only entity which has a moral code.” The International Tennis Federation, the ATP and WTA Tours have all condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, supported by Belarus. They banned the countries from international team competitions and issued directives that players from those nations compete under a neutral flag in other competitions. The USTA also said it would introduce initiatives to help ongoing Ukrainian humanitarian efforts. Wimbledon’s ban has ruled out a swathe of top players, including Daniil Medvedev, the men’s world number one and the reigning US Open champion, as well as last year’s women’s US Open semi-finalist Aryna Sabalenka and two-time major winner Victoria Azarenka. They will be eligible to appear at the US Open.