- The reason for the refusal was a panic attack. Officially it will be written "personal reasons", but in fact it is breathing problems and, one might say, hysteria.
I had a conversation with our WTA CEO Steve Simon a few days ago and I was absolutely shocked by what I heard. He told me that he himself does not support the war, but if the players from Russia and Belarus support it, then this is only their own opinion, and the opinion of other people should not upset me. At the same time, he noted that if this happened to him and he were in my place, he would feel terrible.
In addition, he expressed confidence that the Russians and Belarusians will return to the Olympics, and said that this will happen exactly as it is happening now in tennis. He also said that "fair play" and Olympic principles were not violated, but on the contrary. The very fact that they will perform at the Olympics will show that these principles work, that everyone is equal and everyone has the opportunity to perform there. When asked if he understood that he was telling me this during the active phase of Russian military aggression in my country, he said yes, and this was his opinion.
Only the players from our group, with whom we are constantly in touch, know about my conversation with Steve, Elina knows. Everyone is also shocked. We asked for a conference call with the WTA Board of Directors to discuss how someone like Steve Simon can be a leader in the WTA and what we should do about it. How can we further understand that our organization somehow protects our rights. I just don't understand how it happened in this world that such things need to be explained. It is very strange and very painful.