"I appeal to him not to do so...look at the moral aspects" - Tallon Griekspoor ignores plea not to play Russian exhibition featuring girlfriend Potapova

Tallon Griekspoor is one of a number of tennis players sparking controversy as he is set to partake in an exhibition event in St Petersburg, Russia. The Northern Palmyra Trophies will be played from November 29th-30th.

The controversies from this event all stem from the sponsors of the event, Gazprom. They have been linked to funding the war in Ukraine, which has seen the ATP and WTA remove Russia from their calendars. Players from Russia and Belarus have been forced to play under a neutral flag, including the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.

The exhibition has been annually held since 2022 and seen a number of star players compete as they look to get themselves in the best condition ahead of the next campaign as the preparations commence.

It is a field mostly made up of Russian participants. The likes of Medvedev, Karen Khachanov and Kazakh number one Alexander Bublik (born in Russia) will be heading the field on the men's side. For the women, confirmed names include Veronika Kudermetova, Diana Shnaider and Anastasia Potapova. The latter possibly relates to the surprise inclusion of Griekspoor. The Dutchman and Potapova seem to be in a relationship after Instagram posts from the Russian confirmed that they were on holiday together in the Maldives. They have also regularly been spotted at each other's matches, supporting one another from the stands.

Griekspoor's decision to compete has been met with fury in his home country. As one of the only non-Russian participants, his decision has been slammed by the outgoing Foreign Minister David van Weel who urged for the world number 25 not to feature. "It is not forbidden to participate in tournaments in Russia, but I appeal to him not to do so where possible and to look at the moral aspects," he said in the Ukraine debate in the House of Representatives.

However, his words of wisdom seemed to have travelled over the head of Griekspoor. "Don't they have anything better to do?" he tweeted on X as a reply to van Weel before deleting the post.

He will take on the former US Open champion Medvedev in his first match before teaming up with Alexander Bublik for a doubles match against Medvedev and Khachanov. While there is not a chance for him and Potapova to play with each other due to there being no mixed doubles, they are on the same team for the event.