The organizers of Wimbledon, one of the most important tournaments on the professional tennis circuit, have decided to exclude Russian and Belarusian players. Until now, athletes from both countries have been able to continue participating in the ATP and WTA competitions with a neutral flag.
“In the circumstances of such unprecedented and unwarranted military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefit from the participation of Russian or Belarusian players in The Championships.
Therefore, it is our intention, with deep regret, to refuse the entries of Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022 (…) If the circumstances materially change between now and June, we will consider it and respond accordingly, “they communicated on the tournament website.
The information was first reported by the British newspaper The Times. From the New York Times, they had reported that the ban had been confirmed by a high-ranking international tennis official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Since he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the All England Club, which organizes and hosts the tournament. Thus the British Grand Slam is the first tennis event to restrict the competition of individual Russian and Belarusian athletes.
This measure could be extended to the other three Grand Slam tournaments that remain to be played in 2022. However, the International Federation (ITF) has prohibited teams from the two countries from participating in the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup (former Fed Cup), competitions won by Russian teams in 2021.
It is a decision that will hit several high-ranking players, mainly the Russian Daniil Medvedev, current US Open champion and number two in the world. In addition, there are three other compatriots of his in the top 30 on the ATP Tour, and Russia has five women in the Top 40 of the WTA Tour rankings, led by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (15th). Meanwhile, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka is ranked No. 4 and was a Wimbledon semifinalist last year. Her compatriot Victoria Azarenka, her former number one, is currently ranked number 18.
Reply from Russia
The response from the Kremlin was immediate. In Russia, they considered that it would be “unacceptable” to ban Russian tennis players from participating in Wimbledon.
“Once again, they make athletes hostage to political prejudice, political intrigue (…) It is unacceptable. Considering that Russia is a powerful country in tennis and that our athletes are high in the world rankings, their exclusion will have an impact on the competition itself,” spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.
Some sources told The Times that after two months of talks, Wimbledon organizers have preferred to ban Russian and Belarusian players outright rather than stick to a compromise solution proposed by the British government.
The other option was for athletes of those nationalities to sign a declaration that they would not make favorable comments to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, they felt that this could have a negative impact on the families of the players.
Russian Players are Against the War
Although there were some exceptions, much of the Russian and Belarusian players have been quiet in their condemnation of the conflict. Russian Andrey Rublev, eighth in the ATP rankings, said “no war please” on a television camera during a competition in Dubai shortly after the invasion began.
“I want peace in the whole world,” said Daniil Medvedev, who is currently recovering from a hernia operation and is a doubt for Roland Garros.
The Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, former world number one, was more direct and said: “It is heartbreaking to see how innocent people have been affected and continue to be affected by this violence.”