At the 142nd session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Paris, Olympic Broadcasting Service Director General Yiannis Exarchos gave a speech. During his speech, a video clip of Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov’s performance at the 2020 Olympic Games was shown on the screen.
Khachanov reached the finals of the individual tournament and won the silver medal. At the same time, the Russian tennis player received an invitation from the IOC to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but decided not to go to France.
At the end of February 2022, the IOC issued a call to international sports federations, recommending that Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to participate in any competitions. The organization decided to accept Russians and Belarusians as neutral athletes at the 2024 Olympic Games at the end of 2023. To participate, they must meet a number of conditions and qualify.
On March 6, the International Tennis Federation announced that it had decided to allow Russian and Belarusian tennis players to compete in the Olympic Games in France with neutral status. The Russians and Belarusians will be able to compete in the 2024 Olympics if they adhere to the principles of neutral athletes previously formulated by the International Olympic Committee.
Khachanov before explained Rejection from the Olympic Games.