“I will always be the first one to condemn the war,” he told reporters in Belgrade after a win at the Serbian Open. “As a child of war,I know what kind of emotional trauma a war leaves. Us in Serbia,we know what was happening here in 1999.
“Ordinary people always suffer – we’ve had lots of wars in the Balkans. That being said,I cannot support the Wimbledon decision. It is crazy. It’s not the athletes’ fault. When politics interfere with sport,it usually doesn’t turn out well.”
Navratilova,a winner of 18 grand slam singles titles,said exclusion was not the way to go and the All England Club was missing the big picture.
“Exclusion like this,through no fault of these players,is not the way to go ... I think it’s the wrong decision. Tennis is such a democratic sport. It is difficult when you see politics destroy it.
“And as much as I feel for the Ukrainian players and the Ukrainian people – it’s just horrific what’s going on – I think this is just going further than needed.
“[The players] are on the wrong side of politics ... Hopefully this is only a one-off and won’t escalate any further. This decision was made in a vacuum by the All England Club ... I don’t think they are seeing the big picture in a more global way.”