Athletes from Russia and Belarus will be able to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris without the requirement of representing their national teams, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has announced.
"The International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee will allow qualified and eligible athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as Individual Neutral Athletes (“AIN”) and Paralympic Games as Neutral Paralympic Athletes (“NPA”). The ITF confirms that tennis players from these nations will be allowed to enter the Olympic and Paralympic tennis competitions in an individual and neutral capacity if they comply with the IOC’s AIN and the IPC’s NPA principles. Neutral athletes will need to meet the selection and eligibility requirements as set out in the applicable ITF Regulations," the statement said.
The Olympic Committees of Russia and Belarus may appeal to the ITF Olympic Committee to exempt tennis players from the rule requiring participation in two matches for the national team. Therefore, the International Tennis Federation will review the process of admitting Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympics due to the fact that their national teams have been suspended from participating in the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup.
At the same time, the ITF noted that after finalizing the list of tennis players for the 2024 Olympics, it will submit it to the International Olympic Committee. The IOC Bureau, which oversees the consideration of issues related to the admission of "neutral" athletes, must determine whether the athletes listed by the ITF meet the criteria of neutrality before allowing them to compete in the Olympics.
"The ITF decision aligns with the majority of International Federations (IFs) regarding individual competition and athletes participating in the Paris 2024 Games this summer. The ITF’s position is also in accordance with tennis’ existing international policy which was adopted in March 2022," the statement concluded.
