Tennis players from Belarus and Russia will be able to compete as neutrals in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Wednesday.
Players from Belarus and Russia will be permitted to enter in a “individual and neutral capacity” to compete in singles and doubles events, according to the ITF.
Sportsmen and women must fulfill the qualifying and selection standards as well as adhere to IOC rules and regulations.
The tennis international governing organization released a statement saying, “The ITF decision aligns with the majority of International Federations (IFs) regarding individual competition and athletes participating in the Paris 2024 Games this summer.”
Later, in an email to Reuters, an ITF representative stated that the ruling was applicable to both singles and doubles.
“We wanted to ensure all tennis players are treated fairly and consistently, regardless of what discipline they compete in,” a spokeswoman stated.
“Russian and Belarusian athletes are permitted to compete in singles and doubles as individual neutral athletes under the current international tennis policy, which has been in effect since March 2022.
“Doubles pairs are allocated their place based on their individual performance on the tours (measured by ranking), and not that of their nation.”
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022—for which Belarus served as a staging ground—Russians and Belarusians were prohibited from participating in international competitions.
Nonetheless, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released a set of guidelines in March of last year urging international sports federations to permit participants from these nations to return.
There will be no flags, symbols, or anthems used by the neutral athletes as they compete. Neither are athletes under contract with the Russian or Belarusian militaries, nor are they eligible if they actively support the war in Ukraine.
Tennis players already participate as neutrals on the ATP and WTA tours.