Iga Swiatek’s coach believes Wimbledon did ‘the right thing’ in banning Russian and Belarusian players: “Daria Kasatkina is the only player from that part of the world with whom I talk at all”

Not many agreed with Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarussian players from the event which is why it resulted in the ATP and WTA handing them fines.

Swiatek's coach Tomasz Wiktorowski had no issue with the ban explaining in a recent interview that it was the right thing to do. It's quite a controversy-creating statement as Wiktorowski will certainly hear on social media rather quickly but for him on a personal level, it made a lot of sense:

"Personally, I think Wimbledon did the right thing by treating tennis players from Russia and Belarus firmly. Daria Kasatkina is the only player from that part of the world with whom I talk at all. Just like her trainer. We are not friends, we do not spend time together, but we do not shy away from each other, quite the opposite. We train with her as the only Russian woman."

Kasatkina was the only Russian player who did not actively fight against the banning simply accepting it and saying there are far more important things than tennis. Wiktorowski doubled down on his take saying that the Tours took it softly:

"The tour took it very softly. Tough decisions should be made earlier. Now that's mustard after dinner. As WTA, we stopped going to China because of the Shuai Peng case, but how does that compare to what's happening now in Ukraine?. What happened in February deserved a much stronger response. Iga also communicated her beliefs on the war in Ukraine many times."

Swiatek is one of the player that actively supports Ukraine by wearing a flag pin on her hate since the invasion. She also raised funds for the country.