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Former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka has been asked to sit out of the exhibition event being held in support of Ukraine by the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
Azarenka was scheduled to play at the 'Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition' event organized by the US Open on Wednesday, August 24. However, the USTA has now announced that the Belarusian player will be dropped after her nationality raised concerns in the days leading up to the event.
The USTA issued an official statement on the matter, in which they appreciated Azarenka’s intentions to play at the event.
“In the last 24 hours, after careful consideration and dialogue with all parties involved, Victoria Azarenka will not be participating in our “Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition” this evening. Vika is a strong player leader and we appreciate her willingness to participate. Given the sensitivities to Ukrainian players, and the on-going conflict, we believe this is the right course of action for us,” the statement read.
The event will be held on the occasion of Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24. It will signify goodwill towards war-hit Ukraine and raise humanitarian aid amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff, John McEnroe, Carlos Alcaraz, Leylah Fernandez, Iga Swiatek, among others, were on the original list of players scheduled to participate in the event.
However, Azarenka will no longer be a part of the event as the Ukrainian players were not comfortable having the Belarusian on the court, whose home country has sided with Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
The event's singles and mixed-doubles matches will be held at the Louis Armstrong Stadium from 7-9 pm EDT.
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk declines invitation to play charity event due to Victoria Azarenka’s participation
Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk had earlier voiced her displeasure regarding Victoria Azarenka’s participation at the 'Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition' organized by the USTA.
Kostyuk confirmed that she had received an invitation but declared that she would not be participating due to the involvement of Russian and/or Belarusian players.
"Of course, I received an invitation. I think all our players got them. When Lesya Tsurenko and I found out - I'm only talking about us now, because we didn't ask anyone - so when we found out that there would be representatives of Russia or Belarus at this event, I immediately said that I will not participate in this," she told BTU portal.
The Ukrainian further questioned USTA’s intentions and accused the Belarusian of being duplicitous.
“I did not understand the reason why they called Victoria Azarenka. I can't understand why she's even going to do this. Knowing what kind of relationship she has with all of us. She has no personal good relations with us,” the Ukrainian vented.
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