MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov left the Top 10 of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Rankings List, dropping down one spot to 11th place compared to his previous week’s global ratings.
The Russian was replaced in the 10th-place spot by Frances Tiafoe of the United States, who made a debut entrance to the ATP’s weekly Top 10 ranking. Last weekend, the US tennis player won the 2023 ATP tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany.
The remaining spots in the weekly ATP rankings have remained virtually unchanged with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic staying solidly in the top spot for a record 389th week in a row, while two more Russian tennis players, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, who compete at international tennis tournaments as neutrals, being listed in third and seventh places, respectively.
The ATP’s latest Top 10 list is as follows: No. 1: Novak Djokovic (Serbia); No. 2: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain); No. 3: Daniil Medvedev (Russian athlete competing as a neutral at ATP tournaments); No. 4: Casper Ruud (Norway); No. 5: Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece); No. 6: Holger Rune (Denmark); No. 7: Andrey Rublev (Russian athlete competing as a neutral at ATP tournaments); No. 8: Taylor Fritz (USA); No. 9: Jannick Sinner (Italy); and No. 10 Frances Tiafoe (USA).
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also cancelling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
However, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.