The Russian and Belarusian flags will not be among those flying at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament when it begins on Monday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, despite players from those countries being slated to competed in the two-week event.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began late last month with the help of Belarus and has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, was condemned by tennis’ international governing bodies in a joint statement issued earlier this week.
“A deep sense of distress, shock and sadness has been felt across the entire tennis community following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the past week,” read the statement from the WTA, ATP and ITF. ”Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine, and we commend the many tennis players who have spoken out and taken action against this unacceptable act of aggression. We echo their calls for the violence to end and peace to return.”
According to the statement, players from Russia and Belarus will continue to be allowed to compete in international tennis events but will not be allowed to compete under the name or flag of Russia or Belarus until further notice.
That means players from Russia and Belarus will be competing under a neutral flag.
Of the more than 200 players set to compete in the tournament, there are 12 from Russia, four from Belarus and five from Ukraine. The Russian cadre includes Daniil Medvedev, who is ranked as the No. 1 men’s singles player in the world.
The full player list can be viewed at bnpparibasopen.com/players/list.
The BNP Paribas Open is the first major international sporting event since the invasion of Ukraine began and will run from March 7-20.