Medvedev opens up about playing as neutral athlete at Paris Olympics
The development comes after the sport's governing body shared its stance on players from Russia and Belarus on Wednesday
World number four Daniil Medvedev is looking forward to featuring at the Paris Olympics as a neutral athlete.
The development comes after the sport's governing body shared its stance on players from Russia and Belarus on Wednesday.
Players from the two countries can feature in the Paris Games as neutrals without flags, emblems or anthems, according to the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russians and Belarusians were banned from competing internationally.
In March last year, however, the international sports federations were given the nod to allow competitors from these countries to return after the IOC issued a set of recommendations.
Speaking before his opening match at Indian Wells on Friday, Russian Medvedev said he was keen on featuring in the Olympics after a positive experience in Tokyo three years ago when he qualified for the quarter-finals of the singles event.
"If I can, I'm going to be there. I'm going to play singles and doubles," Medvedev told reporters.
"When I was in Tokyo it was an amazing experience. It was probably one of the biggest memories of my sporting life, which I was surprised (by) because in tennis, we tend to think that the Grand Slams are more important.
"About the neutral flag, I'll follow the rules. If it's under a neutral flag I'll play under a neutral flag and I'm going to try to compete there, show good tennis and try to win, for sure."
Russian and Belarusian players already took part on the ATP and WTA tours as neutrals.
The Olympic tennis event will start on July 27.
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