Azarenka withdraws from 'Tennis Plays for Peace'

Belarusian Azarenka withdraws from 'Tennis Plays for Peace' Ukraine aid exhibition

Belarusian twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka has pulled out of the "Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition" to raise humanitarian aid for Ukraine given the sensitivities of the Ukrainian players, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Wednesday.

With the U.S. Open set to begin on Monday, the tournament initiative was to launch on Wednesday - Ukraine Independence Day - with the exhibition event at Louis Armstrong Stadium that would include women's world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Rafael Nadal, John McEnroe and others.

Ukrainian players such as Marta Kostyuk were unhappy that they were not made aware of, or consulted about, Azarenka's participation in the event, especially one being staged on Ukraine Independence Day.

Belarus is being used as a staging ground for Russia's war in Ukraine, which it has termed a "special military operation".

"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," the USTA said in a statement.

"Vika is a strong player leader and we appreciate her willingness to participate," it said. "Given the sensitivities to Ukrainian players, and the on-going conflict, we believe this is the right course of action for us."

Azarenka appeared to address her exclusion in a tweet later, saying: "Never take for granted the impact of a kind gesture."

Tennis Plays for Peace, comprised of all seven of tennis’ governing bodies including the four Grand Slam events, has raised more than $1 million in humanitarian aid and additionally helped the U.S. Open surpass $1.2 million in funds raised for Ukraine relief.

Hundred-percent of the ticket revenue from the event was donated to GlobalGiving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, which supports humanitarian assistance in impacted communities in Ukraine and surrounding regions where Ukrainian refugees have fled.

Russian and Belarusian players were banned from playing at Wimbledon but will be allowed to compete at Flushing Meadows in the season's final Grand Slam tournament, which runs from Aug. 29 to Sept. 11.

Broady urges Grand Slams to bar late withdrawals from main draw

Britain's Liam Broady called for Grand Slams to enact a rule prohibiting players from making late withdrawals from the main draw, adding that his comments were not aimed at Novak Djokovic.

Broady, who is seeded 25th in qualifying for the U.S. Open and beat American Murphy Cassone on Tuesday, said last-minute withdrawals caused players ranked close to the cut-off mark for Grand Slam main draws to needlessly go through qualifying.

The U.S. Open main draw will be announced later on Thursday, and subsequent withdrawals will require the draw to be reshuffled, with the vacated spots going to "lucky losers".

"There should be a rule against late withdrawals from slams when you know you aren't going to play," Broady wrote in a post on Twitter on Wednesday.

"Really tough on number 1 seeds in slam qualifying seeing players they know aren't playing on the main draw list but still having to going through qualifying."

Djokovic, who has refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, appears set to miss out on the tournament due to current U.S. rules that require travellers to show proof of full vaccination to board flights to and enter the United States.

Djokovic was also unable to defend his Australian Open crown this year after being deported from the country over his vaccination status in January. He so far remains on the entry list for the U.S. Open, which runs Aug. 29-Sept. 11.

Broady later explained his tweet was not about Djokovic, saying he had no issues with the Serbian hanging on to his spot out of a belief he would be able to play in the tournament.

"This tweet isn't about ND," Broady said in a reply to a Djokovic fan. "It's about players who KNOW way before the withdrawal deadline and still don't do it due to lack of caring.

"It can cost the guy one out of main draw a lot of money as qualifying isn't guaranteed...

"I think ND still believes there's a chance he plays. Totally fine."