"Consider the moral dimension": The Netherlands urge Griekspoor to withdraw from the Saint Petersburg exhibition

Tallon Griekspoor's participation in an exhibition in Russia, influenced by his relationship with Anastasia Potapova, causes a political uproar in the Netherlands.

AFP

Jules Hypolite

le 28/11/2025 à 17h23

1 min to read

Griekspoor

The Trophées de la Palmyre du Nord, an exhibition organized in Saint Petersburg, will take place this weekend in Russia.

Deprived of ATP and WTA tournaments since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the country sees the event being funded by the giant Gazprom, which aims to bring some tennis back to its territory.

Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Bublik, Veronika Kudermetova, and Diana Shnaider have confirmed their participation. Tallon Griekspoor will also be part of it, notably due to his relationship with Russian player Anastasia Potapova.

The Dutch government has gotten involved

A presence that is causing teeth to grind on the Dutch government's side. The authorities contacted the world No. 25 this week to try to dissuade him from traveling to Russia:

"It is not forbidden to participate in tournaments in Russia, but I called him so that he would not go and that he would consider the moral dimension," said David van Weel, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs.

A call far from delighting the person concerned, who briefly reacted on X (formerly Twitter) before deleting his message: "Don't they have anything better to do?"