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The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which hosts the grass
court Grand Slam, took the decision in the wake of Russia's invasion
of Ukraine and the stand was swiftly condemned by the men's and
women's tours.
The ATP and the WTA denounced the AELTC decision as
"discriminatory", with Steve Simon, the women's tour chief, last
week warning of "strong reactions".
"If you are asking me if I agree with Wimbledon or I see their
reasoning after being on a personal call with them, I don't see
their reasoning," Azarenka, who sits on the WTA players' council,
told reporters in Madrid on Thursday.
"It does not make sense and it does not connect to what they are
saying."
The 32-year-old Azarenka, ranked 17th in the world, won her opening
round at the WTA 1000 event in Madrid on Thursday but her fellow
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka's title defence ended with a 6-2 3-6 6-4
defeat to unseeded American Amanda Anisimova.
Tennis governing bodies have banned Russia and Belarus from
international team competitions following the invasion, but
individual players from the two countries are allowed to continue
competing as neutrals.
The 2022 Wimbledon championships will be the first time that players
have been banned on the grounds of nationality since the immediate
post-World War Two era, when German and Japanese players were
excluded.
"I think there should be a reaction to that, that is all I want to
say," said Azarenka, who won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013.
"I have made my stance very clear on the issue. I will never, ever
support war. I will never support violence. I will never find any
justifications for that. That is all I can say right now."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Kim Coghill)
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