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Posted: 2022-05-24 15:07:21

Moscow-born Australian tennis star Daria Saville, nee Gavrilova, believes she can't return to her original home following comments she has made about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Saville made the comments as she detailed her conflicting personal emotions over Wimbledon's ban on Russian players.

The All England Club has banned Russian and Belarusian players from the 2022 event over concerns success could be used by the Russian regime as propaganda in support of the war.

Saville also explained she still hadn't herself decided yet whether to compete at Wimbledon due to tennis tour governing bodies the ATP and WTA removing points from Wimbledon in response to its ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Saville has been vocal in protesting against her birth country's invasion of Ukraine, including an Instagram post in Russian, which said: "Silence in the current situation is equal to complicity. Putin, stop the war. Army, come home!"

She also wore blue and yellow, the colours of Ukraine at the Paris Open through March.

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Her husband — Australian doubles specialist and 2011 Wimbledon boys' single champion — Luke Saville has also spoken about his wife Daria's worries over her parents, who are still in Moscow.

Speaking at the French Open where she's eased into a second-round clash with two-times Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova, she again reiterated her support for her Ukrainian colleagues.

But asked if she had any sympathy for the Russians banned from the world's biggest tournament, she sounded pained as she replied: "Yes and no … it's yeah, it's tough, it's hard for me also to comment.

"Already I can't really go back to Russia no.

Saville was also conflicted over whether the All England Club had made the right call with its ban.

"It's a grey area because I have way too many friends in Russia," said Saville, who became an Australian citizen in 2015.

As for her own participation at Wimbledon, Saville was also in a dilemma after the WTA tour's decision not to award ranking points for the tournament.

"It's a bit tricky with points. I have to make a decision whether it's worth it to play (Wimbledon) qualifying or maybe I play the week before. I'm still weighing it up.

"The prizemoney at Wimbledon is good, That's why I'd like to qualify, but I'll make that decision later.

"Wimbledon's still going to be Wimbledon. Some players say it's an exhibition — I don't think it's ever going to be an exhibition.

"It's tricky but there's some decisions I'm going to have to take. Of course, the majority of people would have preferred to play with points and I kind of feel bad for Ukrainian girls and guys because you read the Russian news and..."

Her voice then trailed off and her distress over what's happening in Ukraine was summed up one by final poignant observation.

Big names divided

The Wimbledon points issue has divided some of tennis's biggest names.

Four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka, who has never made it past the third round at SW19, said the lack of ranking points means she is considering sitting out.

"I would say the decision is kind of affecting, like, my mentality going into grass. I'm not 100 per cent sure if I'm going to go there," four-time major winner Osaka said at a press conference.

"I would love to go just to get some experience on the grass court, but at the same time, for me, it's kind of, I don't want to say pointless, no pun intended, but I'm the type of player that gets motivated by … seeing my ranking go up."

Tennis player Naomi Osaka sits behind a microphone while wearing a cap and headphones during a press conference.
Naomi Osaka said she is "the type of player that gets motivated by … seeing [her] ranking go up".(Getty: Robert Prange)

Men's world number one Novak Djokovic plans on defending his Wimbledon title, even though he will forfeit the 2,000 rankings points he won last year. The Serb lost another 2,000 points when he was unable to play in this year's Australian Open due to his unvaccinated status.

The lack of rankings points is likely to result in Djokovic losing his number one ranking to Russian Daniil Medvedev.

"It's a very unique and weird situation," Djokovic said after his first-round win over Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka at Roland Garros.

"A grand slam is still a grand slam, Wimbledon for me was always my dream tournament when I was a child.

"I don't look at it through the lens of points or prize money, for me, it's something else."

Novak Djokovic holds a trophy
Novak Djokovic has won Wimbledon six times, most recently last year.(Reuters)

Rafael Nadal and Djokovic have criticised Wimbledon's decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tournament following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

"I think it's very unfair [on] my Russian tennis mates, my colleagues … it's not their fault, what's happening in this moment with the war," Nadal, a 21-time grand slam winner, said.

Djokovic compared the situation of the excluded players to what he went through in January when he was unable to play in the Australian Open. He was deported from Australia for not being vaccinated against COVID-19.

"It's not the same thing, but going through something similar earlier this year for myself, it's frustrating knowing that you're not able to play," Djokovic said.

The prominent players affected by the ban include reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, while Belarusian stars Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka would also be unable to play.

ABC/ AAP

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