World Tennis body upholds sanctions

The World Tennis General Assembly, which used to be called the International Tennis Federation (ITF), decided on October 13, 2026, to keep sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian tennis federations. This decision came after a meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where representatives from different national federations voted on proposals to let the Russian and Belarusian teams back into international competitions and to restore their federation memberships. None of the proposals got enough support to pass.

Sanctions remain in place

The sanctions, first introduced in March 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have now been extended. This means that Russia and Belarus will continue to be excluded from international team tennis events, such as the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup. The World Tennis organization said in a statement that the Council of the General Assembly voted to keep the suspensions of the Russian and Belarusian federations.

Previous refusal to change stance

In May 2026, the International Tennis Federation had already refused to change its position, even though the International Olympic Committee had shifted its stance on allowing Belarusian athletes to compete. The Belarusian federation's status was set to be reviewed at the October general assembly, which has now ended with the decision to keep the current sanctions in place.