French tennis player Adrian Mannarino has recently faced criticism from Mykyta Vlasov for agreeing to compete in the very controversial exhibition tournament in Russia. Vlasov is the coach for Lesia Tsurenko.
Mannarino came under the spotlight for agreeing to feature in such a disputable event. The coach of the Ukrainian player called out the French player’s action.
I know Lesia wrote to Adrian on Instagram… but he didn’t respond. Which is weird because I always thought of him as a positive person.Mykyta Vlasov via L’Equipe
The Russian authorities, last year set up an exhibition tournament in Russia as an answer to all the international bans and sanctions in the world of sports, especially tennis after the ATP banned any event in the country.
The actions also included a ban on Russian and Belarusian players from participating in its tournaments. This ban came after Russia’s highly disputable invasion of Ukraine under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin.
The No.2 French player and his management team denied comment on this issue, very well aware of the consequences of the decision to play in this Russian exhibition tournament. This has come off as quite a shock to the tennis fans all over.
Top Players Mannarino, Djere, Bautista Agut Confirm Entry in Controversial Russian Tennis Tournament
Adrian Mannarino, Laslo Djere, and Roberto Bautista Agut are among others who have confirmed their presence in the very infamous ‘Trophy of the Northern Palmyra’ exhibition tournament to be held in Saint-Petersburg this year. The tournament, which started last year as a response to the international sanctions and bans applied on the country for its invasion of Ukraine, will organize a second edition this year as well.
Due to the war, Russia received much backlash and sanctions in the field of sports, with the ITF (International Tennis Federation) banning the taking place of any event in Russia. Many former and current players have shown their disapproval of featuring in this tournament as they stand for and support world peace. Many have taken a stand in favor of Ukraine by staying absent from this Russian tournament.
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