MINSK, March 5. /TASS/. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has turned down an appeal from the Belarusian Tennis Federation (BTF) against its membership suspension with the International Tennis Federation (ITF), BTF Chairman Sergey Rutenko said on Tuesday.

"The appeal submitted by the Belarusian Tennis Federation against the ITF Council’s decision has been rejected," Rutenko said speaking at a news conference. "A previous decision made by the ITF Council has been upheld. We are currently considering an option of filing an appeal with a higher court instance in Switzerland."

"It should be noted that when we first announced our intentions to make public the details of the case, a stark reaction followed on behalf of the ITF, they threatened us, warned us against doing it," the BTF chief continued. "It was another argument that points to their arrogance and overconfidence."

"Even at the times of our suspension they prohibit us from doing anything, they demand from us paying annual fees and above everything they tell us what we must be doing although our rights are obvious to us," Rutenko said.

"This is why a decision was made and I have warned them that we are not staying mum and will make public all materials regarding this case," the BTF chairman added.

Belarusian 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 canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from 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.