Two tours, two answers
Same tragedy, opposite rulings. After the train accident in Spain on Wednesday that killed 69 people, Rafael Jodar was allowed by the ATP to wear a black ribbon on his arm in Basel. On the women’s side, Kaitlin Quevedo asked for the same thing and was turned down.
Jodar, ranked ninth in the world, wore the ribbon on Thursday in his round-of-16 loss to Valentin Vacherot at the Basel ATP 500. Quevedo, who is 20 and ranked 86th, wanted to follow his lead for her quarter-final against Jil Teichmann at the Guangzhou tournament. According to Spanish daily Marca, WTA officials told her the armband could be any colour except black.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
The rule behind the refusal
The WTA points to a regulation dating from 1 October 2024. It bars any symbol, slogan, charity link, cause or political message on a player, her clothing or her equipment, before, during or after a match. The tour says the aim is a neutral and respectful setting for every player.
There is one exception. A gesture is allowed if it is part of an official initiative or campaign backed by the WTA. Quevedo’s request, a personal tribute from a Spanish player, did not qualify.
Quevedo was crowned champion in São Paulo earlier this year, and she is now in the last eight in China during a week when Spain is in mourning. The gap between the two tours is hard to miss: one let a tribute for victims of a disaster through, the other applied a rule written with slogans and causes in mind.
Discover the rest of our Tennis news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply