Victoria Azarenka to miss Tennis Plays for Peace exhibition due to ‘sensitivities’ – USTA

Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka will not play in the ‘Tennis Plays for Peace Exhibition’ at the US Open, the United States Tennis Association have announced.

The initiative was set to begin on Wednesday with Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek and John McEnroe amongst others – including Azarenka – and will be a tournament-long initiative thereafter.

Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko is an ally of Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.

And the United States Tennis Association announced on Wednesday that after consultation with all parties that Azarenka would not participate.

“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,” read a statement from USTA.

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