The UK-based tennis tournament announced the ban in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Tennis star Novak Djokovic called the ban on Russian and Belarusian Wimbledon players “crazy”.
His criticism on Thursday came a day after the world’s oldest tennis tournament announced the measure in light of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Wimbledon, which is based in the United Kingdom, became the first tennis tournament to prevent individual athletes from both sides from competing amid the ongoing conflict.
Speaking to reporters at the Serbian Open, Djokovic said he “cannot support Wimbledon’s decision”.
“I think it’s crazy,” he added. “When politics interferes in sports, the result is not good.”
However, he added that “I will always condemn the war, I will never support the war, because I myself am a child of the war … I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. In Serbia, we all know what happened in 1999. We have had many wars in the Balkans in recent history. “
The ban means that world number two Daniil Medvedev of Russia and fourth-ranked Arina Sabalenka of Belarus will not compete from June 27th to July 10th.
Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club, said Wednesday: “We acknowledge that this is a pity for those affected and they will grieve over the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime.
Djokovic is not afraid of controversy during his professional career, most recently during a public conflict with Australian officials over his refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The tennis player was also widely criticized in September 2021 for dinner with Milan Jolovic, former commander of the notorious Drina Wolves paramilitary unit, which took part in the genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Jolovic is famous by many Serbs for saving the life of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic during the Bosnian war in the early 1990s.
In 2017, a UN tribunal found Mladic guilty of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia and sentenced him to life in prison.
Prior to dinner, Djokovic was also seen singing at a wedding in Bosnia with Bosnian Serb presidency member Milorad Dodik, a notorious genocide denier who regularly advocates separating the Bosnian Serb-ruled Republika Srpska from the country.
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