The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a reported ban on Russian players taking part in this year's Wimbledon tennis tournament in Britain would hurt the tournament itself given Russia's tennis prowess and was unacceptable.
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A report in sports industry news site Sportico on Tuesday said Russian players would be banned because of Moscow's decision to send troops into Ukraine in February.
"Given that Russia is a strong tennis country the competitions (which take this decision) will suffer from this," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call.
"To make sports people hostages of political intrigue is unacceptable. I hope the players won't lose their fitness."
