Belgrade (AFP) - World number eight Andrey Rublev blasted Wimbledon's ban on Russian and Belarusian players as "complete discrimination" on Thursday and suggested organisers should instead donate the tournament's multi-million dollar prize fund to victims of the conflict.
"The reasons they (Wimbledon) gave us had no sense, they were illogical," said Rublev on the sidelines of the Belgrade ATP event.
"What is happening now is complete discrimination against us."
Wimbledon on Wednesday banned all Russian and Belarusian players from taking part in this year's Grand Slam event in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The decision will see Rublev as well as compatriot and world number two Daniil Medvedev and women's fourth-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus amongst those sitting out the June 27-July 10 tournament.
"Banning Russian or Belarusian players....will not change anything," added Rublev who said redirecting Wimbledon's prize fund, which last year totalled £35 million ($45.6 million), would have a more positive effect.
"To give all the prize money to humanitarian help, to the families who are suffering, to the kids who are suffering, I think that would do something, at least a bit.
"Tennis will, in that case, be the first and only sport who donates that amount of money and it will be Wimbledon so they will take all the glory."
US tennis legend Billie Jean King, a founder of the WTA in 1973, said she "cannot support" the Wimbledon decision.
"One of the guiding principles of the founding of the WTA was that any girl in the world, if she was good enough, would have a place to compete," said the six-time Wimbledon champion.
"I stood by that in 1973 and I stand by that today.I cannot support the banning of individual athletes from any tournament, simply because of their nationality."
Australian John Millman, the world number 80, backed Rublev's call to donate the event's millions of dollars to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
"When I qualified at Wimbledon for the 1st time I asked for two extra ground passes so family could watch - I was told to line up in the queue," the 32-year-old tweeted Thursday.
"Money means everything there, if you're going to ban athletes then also give all your profits in aid.Then we'd know you're serious."
'Speak out'
Meanwhile, Ukraine's top female player Elina Svitolina said Thursday that Russian and Belarusian players who do speak out against the invasion "should be allowed" to compete at Wimbledon.
"We don't want them banned completely," former world number three Svitolina, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2019, told the BBC.
"If players don't speak out against the Russian government then it is the right thing to ban them."
"We just want them to speak up, if they are with us and the rest of the world or the Russian government.This is for me the main point.If they didn't choose, they didn't vote for this government, then it's fair they should be allowed to play and compete."
At the Dubai tournament in February, Rublev had scribbled "No war please" on a courtside TV camera after a victory.
World number one Novak Djokovic also hit out at the "crazy" decision by Wimbledon.
"The players, the tennis players, the athletes have nothing to do with it (war).When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good," Djokovic had said Wednesday.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which runs Wimbledon, said it was acting to "limit Russia's global influence through the strongest means possible".
But the ATP and WTA organisers have also criticised the ban, saying it was "unfair" and "very disappointing".
