Medvedev weighs into Russia locker room ‘rows’ amid Wimbledon news

Daniil Medvedev has rubbished talk of “tension” between Russians and other players in the locker room. The world No 5 reacted to Wimbledon’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete again this year after they were banned in 2023. And he revealed that he had experienced no issues with other players behind the scenes despite the recent debate over locker room problems.

Between a row over whether there have been “tensions” in the locker room and Wimbledon announcing that Russians could compete this year, the Ukraine war has become the talk of the tennis world in recent weeks. Ukrainian stars like Lesia Tsurenko and Marta Kostyuk have confessed that things have been difficult with their Russian and Belarusian colleagues behind the scenes.

And Belarusian world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka also admitted to issues away from the court, claiming some players had been “really aggressive against us.” Medvedev became the latest player to weigh into the debate on Sunday as he was asked whether he had ever received negativity in the locker room as a Russian player.

The freshly-crowned Miami Open champion was quick to shut the suggestion down, responding: “In the locker room, no.” But Medvedev did admit that things were different on social media, though he tried not to consume the negative comments.

“So for sure on Internet we can see a lot of things, and I try not to go into it too much, because we have too much hate on social media. And the more you go into this, the more it can bring you trouble in your life,” he added.

The world No 5 also said that the locker room was a friendly place in general as he continued: “So in the locker room, never experienced it. Yeah, I always said that’s why I embrace ATP Tour, because I feel like out of 100 players, yes, maybe here and there there is going to be 5 or 10 which not even you don’t like but maybe you’re not friends, but out of 90, I don’t know, I can laugh, speak, it’s an easygoing tour and I love it.”

He also addressed the All England Club’s decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete this year after they were banned in 2022. Medvedev revealed that he also wanted to be at next year’s Olypics as he shared his goal of attempting to achieve a career-best showing at Wimbledon.