The geopolitical tensions surrounding Eastern Europe that have taken center stage in world politics have inevitably affected the sporting world too. Take the example of tennis. Last month, Wimbledon announced a ban on Russian and Belarusian players from participating in this year’s tournament. However, the move invited widespread criticism from top players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and John Isner.

In the ongoing French Open, American tennis star John Isner won his opening round clash yesterday. After the match, he opened up about ATP’s decision to strip ranking points from Wimbledon and Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia.

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John Isner talks about the grim situation surrounding Brittney Griner

Russian authorities had arrested the American basketball star Brittney Griner on drug charges. During the post-match press conference after his first-round victory at the French Open 2022, Isner talked about Griner and how it will be to play at Wimbledon without ranking points. He said, “I don’t know how that’s going to affect the field. It’s going to have a different feel to it.”

Further, he added, “You know, I don’t personally agree with the decision to ban the players from Russia and Belarusia. But the players, we would also prefer to be playing for points, so I… but I get it. I’m not saying the ATP has made a wrong decision, but we would prefer to be playing with points.”

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Backing ATP’s decision, Isner said, “But I definitely stand with the ATP in the sense that I believe these players should be playing. They don’t have anything to do with the invasion going on. You know, we all just want this, the whole world just wants this to come to an end somehow. It stinks that it’s interfered with sports, but that’s the way of the world now. It’s not just tennis. A lot of different sports have … you know, the costs of this have been affected. You see Brittney Griner, for instance, is still in detention right now in Russia. That’s just crazy. Hopefully she can get back home.”

Isner advances at the French Open 2022

The 37-year-old won his first-round match against Quentin Halys 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (6) in three hours and 20 minutes. It was thrilling, end-to-end stuff, with Isner winning crucial points in the tiebreakers to prevail over Halys.

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Next, Isner will face local hero, Gregoire Barrere in the second round. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top in this encounter.