"I think they shouldn't be allowed, either to Olympics": Kvitova sides with Ukrainians, believes Wimbledon ban should've remained

Petra Kvitova came out in support of Ukrainian tennis players agreeing with them that Russian and Belarusian athletes should have remained banned from Wimbledon and the Olympics too.

Petra Kvitova didn't speak much about the war in Ukraine but she voiced her thoughts recently siding with the Ukranian sentiment. Speaking after her match with Sorana Cirstea, Kvitova admitted that she was naturally against the war but also sided with Ukranian players in their demands for bans on the players from Russian and Belarus.

"Well, first of all, for sure, I always state like against the war. For sure I'm just more worried about the Ukrainian people and players. I appreciate that Wimbledon had a tough time last year not giving the points, that Belarusian and Russian didn't play. And I think they shouldn't be allowed, actually, in my opinion, either to Olympics. I'm just still a bit on the Ukrainian side of this."

It's not a surprising sentiment but it is a bit unusual as most tennis players avoided backing it publicly though many might agree with it in private. Kvitova is certainly the biggest name that categorically sided with the bans though she's not the only one who spoke for the Ukranian side as Swiatek did that earlier as well.

Asked about facing Rybakina, Kvitova said:

"As you said, she's playing very good, winning Indian Wells, returning here in the final. For sure it's a great achievement. She's a big hitter, big server as well. I'm the same. It's depends really how we are gonna handle the pressure from the opponent."