The Match TV sports channel announced that Russian player Elena Vesnina, 37 years old and the 2016 Olympic champion, will participate in the doubles competition alongside Ekaterina Alexandrova in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The International Tennis Federation also confirmed the participation of six other Russian players in the upcoming Olympics, as the men’s team consists of Daniil Medvedev, Roman Saviolin, and Pavel Kotov, while the women’s team consists of Ekaterina Alexandrova, Mira Andreeva, and Diana Schneider.
It is reported that under the new Olympic rules, players from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to participate as independent athletes in the next Olympics.
Elena began her professional career in 2002 and reached the peak of her ranking in women’s doubles by reaching third place on February 17, 2014, according to the classification of the Women’s Tennis Association.
During her career, Elena won two Grand Slam doubles titles, specifically in the French Open in 2013 and the US Open in 2014, and her partner in these victories was the Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
Elena has a distinguished history in the Olympics, as she is the 2016 Olympic doubles champion and a silver medalist in mixed doubles at the 2020 Olympics.
The Olympic Games will be held in the French capital, Paris, and will last from July 26 until August 11.
International sports organizations imposed a series of sanctions on Russia, after the Russian operation against Ukraine, where the International Olympic Committee decided to prevent Russian athletes from participating in the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games and banned the use of the Russian flag and the national anthem in international competitions.
FIFA also excluded the Russian national team from the 2022 World Cup and canceled Russia’s hosting of the U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2023. The European Football Association also banned Russian teams from participating in European club competitions and suspended the Russian women’s national team from the 2023 European Women’s Championship.
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