Veronika Kudermetova fired ashot at the Russia ban in team competitions as the former world No. 9 cheekily remarked that the competition "apparently got scared of us."
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Shortly after the war in Ukraine started, the ITF announced that Russia and Belarus were temporarily banned from competing in the the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup events. Also, the ATP and WTA banned those two countries from taking part in the United Cup.
Just months before the expulsion, Russia won both the 2021 Davis Cup Finals and the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup Finals titles.
When it comes to the Russian DC team, they beat Croatia for their first title since 2006 and overall the third in the competition. On the other side, the Russian BJK Cup team ousted Switzerland for their fifth main glory in the competition.
Kudermetova was a part of the 2021 team that landed Russia their first BJK Cup title since 2008.
"I didn't really think about it, to be honest. We left beautifully, as winners. Both boys and girls. And then, apparently, they got scared of us," the former world No. 9 told Championat when addressing the ban.
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What happened nearly three years ago?
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) condemns Russias invasion of Ukraine and its facilitation by Belarus. In addition to the cancellation of all ITF events in those countries, the ITF Board has today announced the immediate suspension of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) and Belarus Tennis Federation (BTF) from ITF membership and from participation in ITF international team competition until further notice. The ITF remains in close contact with the Ukraine Tennis Federation and stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine," the ITF said in a statement on May 1st, 2022.
At the time, some were pushing for the Russian and Belarusian players to be banned from competing across all ATP and WTA tournaments. While Wimbledon proceeded with that in 2022, others didn't as the general belief was that there was no reason to individually punish Russian and Belarusian athletes.
As the war is still ongoing, there are no indications that Russia and Belarus will be allowed to return to the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup in 2025.
