Dutch government officials and the tennis federation have urged Tallon Griekspoor to rethink his decision to sign up for a Russian tennis exhibition.
Last week, the lineup for this year's Northern Palmyra Trophies in St. Petersburg was announced. The majority of the player field consists of Russian ATP and WTA players - Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov, Mikhail Youzhny, Diana Shnaider, Anastasia Potapova and Veronika Kudermetova. The lineup also features Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik and Yulia Putintseva, as well as Dutch tennis player Griekspoor.
In the ATP rulebook, players are listed as "individual contractors." That means that the ATP and the WTA - who removed all official tournaments from Russia - cannot prevent any player from signing up for exhibition tournaments.
ADVERTISEMENT
David van Well, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, is aware of the rules but believes world No. 25 Griekspoor should skip the St. Petersburg exhibition due to "moral reasons."
It is not forbidden to participate in tournaments in Russia, but I do call on him not to do so. Consider the moral aspects, van Weel said.
The DTFreached out to Griekspoor
Griekspoor, who is the highest-ranked Dutch male tennis player, was also urged by his country's tennis federation to pull out of the Northern Palmyra Trophies, which is scheduled to take place between November 29-30.
We have been in contact with Griekspoor to inform him of the KNLTBs position. At the same time, players are free to make their own choices and considerations regarding participation in competitions and tournaments in Russia. In this case, Griekspoor made that decision independently; the KNLTB is not involved," a Dutch Tennis Federation spokesperson said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Earlier this year, Griekspoor and Potapova sparked dating rumors. Since then, Potapova has been spotted in the stands for several of the Dutch tennis player's matches. Recently, they went to the Maldives together for an offseason vacation.
