World No25 Tallon Griekspoor has been urged by his country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs to withdraw from competing in a tournament in Russia funded by state-owned energy giant Gazprom this weekend.
The North Palmyra Trophies is an exhibition which has taken place in St Petersburg since 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw its ATP and WTA tournaments removed from the tour schedules.
The Dutch star is the only player featured in the tournament who is not either Russian, or Russian-born with a sporting allegiance to a former Soviet republic, like Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik and Yulia Putinseva.
Griekspoor’s involvement in the event likely stems from that of his girlfriend’s, fellow player Anastasia Potatpova, who has competed at the tournament before.
The 24-year-old women’s star shared a picture of herself and her boyfriend flying to the Russian city to the exhibition’s Telegram Channel, on the heels of their romantic post-season trip to the Maldives.
One day before the start of the tournament however, Minister David van Weel pleaded with his country’s No1 to reconsider.
Tallon Griekspoor has been urged by the Netherlands’ Minister for Foreign Affairs not to compete in a Russian exhibition
The world No25 has arrived in St Petersburg to play alongside girlfriend Anastasia Potapova
‘It’s not forbidden to participate in tournaments in Russia, but I do urge him not to do so,’ Van Weel said. ‘Consider the moral aspects.’
Although Russian players competing on the tour must do so under a neutral flag, there are no rules against playing in Russia for a state-owned entity due to the tournament’s exhibition status.
Due to there being no affiliation between either tour and the event, players – who are essentially independent contractors to the ATP or WTA – are free to make their own entrance decisions.
Among those who have decided to compete in the tournament are former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, and top 20 players Karen Khachanov, Diana Schnaider, and Veronika Kudermetova.
As per AD, Griekspoor is believed to have contacted the Dutch Tennis Association to confirm his inclusion in the tournament draw, with technical director Jacco Eltingh forced to contend that there was no way to either sanction the player nor dissuade him from playing.
‘The tennis association itself does not send players or teams to Russia and follows the policy of the NOC (Netherlands’ National Olympic Committee) and the international tennis organisations,’ Eltingh said.
‘But a top tennis player is ultimately an independent entity that can make choices, if they are not in the national youth teams.’
Previous iterations of the exhibition have seen foreign players take part, such as France’s Adrian Mannarino and Spanish star Roberto Bautista Agut.
The pair have recently finished holidaying in the off-season in the Maldives and Dubai
Daniil Medvedev is one of the biggest names set to compete in the event – which exists in lieu of sanctioned tour stops
Griekspoor is the only active player competing who is not Russian or of Russian heritage
Reputationally, the price for competing in St Petersburg can prove too rich for many top stars, with Jasmine Paolini hurriedly withdrawing from the line-up in 2023 amid widespread backlash.
But for some, the moral stain of competing in Russia not something they subscribe to, with Mannarino sharing in January 2024 that he feels he is above politics.
‘I’m a professional tennis player,’ the 37-year-old said. ‘I’m not into politics or anything.
‘I just went there. I did my job. That’s what I did.
‘I’m not supporting anything. That was a private event. That was not anything about political support. There’s nothing to talk about.’
But for Ukrainian stars on the tour, playing at the tournament is akin to speaking out in favour of the war.
‘I tried to explain to them what they would be involved in,’ Lesia Tsurenko said in 2023 of discussions with Mannarino, Bautista Agut, and Serbia’s Laslo Djere. ‘Last year, I managed to convince one player not to go to this shameful tournament.’
‘Tennis tours block any information about the war and do not explain to players that they will be advertising a sponsor of terrorism, their names will be used for propaganda, and participating in events sponsored by sanctioned companies is not acceptable.
‘It will damage the image of the player, their country, and the tour. It’s not difficult to distinguish between good and bad.’
Gazprom’s St Petersburg-based leadership has deep ties to Putin and his government, and contributes billions of dollars in taxes to the state, in turn funding the continuation of Russia’s war machine.