Djokovic opposes 'crazy' Wimbledon ban of Russian, Belarusian players

April 21 (UPI) -- Serbian Novak Djokovic opposes Wimbledon's decision to bar Russian and Belarusian tennis players from the Grand Slam tournament in England and thinks the move is "crazy," he told reporters.

The ban will keep men's No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and No. 8 Andrey Rublev and women's No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, among others, out of the grass-court Grand Slam. Medvedev, Rublev and Pavlyuchenkova are from Russia. Sabalenka is Belarusian.

Djokovic, the top-ranked men's tennis player in the world, made the comments Wednesday at a news conference at the Serbia Open in Belgrade.

Wimbledon officials announced the ban, related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarusian government support for the war, hours before Djokovic met with reporters.

"I will always condemn war," Djokovic said. "I will never support war, being myself a child of war.

"I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. ... In the Balkans, we have had many wars in recent history. However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon. I think it is crazy."

Wimbledon 2022 will run from June 27 to July 10 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

Djokovic is the defending Wimbledon men's singles champion. Former women's No. 1 Ash Barty, who retired in March, won the Wimbledon 2021 women's singles title.

Djokovic beat fellow Serbian Laslo Dere in straight sets in his Round of 16 Serbia Open match Wednesday in Belgrade. He missed January's Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, because of COVID-19 vaccination rules.

Djokovic is expected to play in the French Open, which runs from May 22 to June 5 in Paris. The clay-court competition is the second Grand Slam tournament of the season.

Djokovic won three Grand Slam singles titles in 2021. His 20 total Grand Slam titles are tied with Switzerland's Roger Federer for No. 2 all-time, behind Spaniard Rafael Nadal's 21.

"We share in the universal condemnation of Russia's illegal actions and have carefully considered the situation in the context of our duties to the players, to our community and to the broader U.K. public as a British sporting institution," the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club said in a statement Wednesday.

"Given the profile of the Championships ... it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia's global influence through the strongest means possible.

"It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to the Championships 2022."

Four Russian men rank inside the Top 30 in the ATP rankings. Five Russian women rank inside the Top 40 of the WTA rankings.