LONDON (AP) 鈥� Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and former men’s No. 1 Daniil Medvedev will continue to play under neutral status after the International Tennis Federation announced Friday that it will 鈥渘ot change its existing position鈥� over suspensions for Belarus and Russia.
In a political shift Thursday, and not be vetted for neutral status, even as continues.
鈥淭he International Tennis Federation confirms that the IOC鈥檚 announcement does not change its existing position regarding the Belarus and Russian Tennis Federations鈥� suspensions, which remain in place,鈥� the ITF said.
鈥淭he membership status of the Belarus Tennis Federation will be considered at the ITF Annual General Meeting in October by the ITF鈥檚 voting member nations,鈥� the international federation added.
Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, is a four-time Grand Slam winner. Medvedev, who is from Russia, won the U.S. Open in 2021 and is now ranked No. 9.
Since the war began, tennis players from Belarus and Russia have had to play with their countries unnamed and without flags next to their names. Both countries have also been banned from the Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup and other ITF team competitions; and tennis events in the countries were canceled.
___
AP tennis:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
