Wimbledon has not banned athletes from other countries since World War II, when it banned players from Germany and Japan.
Tennis players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to compete at this year’s Wimbledon tournament due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the All England Lawn and Tennis Club (AELTC) has said.
Among the prominent players affected by the ban is the defending US Open champion, Daniil Medvedev, who has just reached number one in the rankings of the Association of Professional Tennis (ATP); Andrey Rublev men’s eighth place; Aryna Sabalenka, who reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2021 and ranked 4th in the rankings of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA); Victoria Azarenka, Belarusian, former two-time female Australian Open champion; and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, last year’s French Open runner-up.
Ian Hewitt, president of the AELTC, said in a statement on Wednesday: “We recognize that this has been difficult for the individuals affected, and are saddened that they will have to endure the actions of leaders of the Russian regime”.
The tennis organization, he said, had “thoroughly considered” the alternatives that could be implemented in line with UK government guidance.
“But given the outstanding environment of the Championships, the importance of not allowing the use of sport to promote the Russian regime and our broader concerns for public safety and for football. players (including families), we don’t believe it’s possible to do anything off-base,” said Hewitt.
Wimbledon, the highest of tennis’ four Grand Slams, takes place from June 27 to July 10 this year.
Russian officials reacted angrily to reports of the ban, calling it “unacceptable”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “Again, they are simply taking the athletes hostage.
“This is unacceptable. Turns out Russia is a very strong country in tennis, our athletes are all at the top of the world rankings, the gymnasiums themselves will be excluded from them.”
Tennis governing bodies have ban Russia and Belarus from international team competitions following the 24 February invasion. However, Russian and Belarusian players were allowed to compete on the tour but were not allowed to carry their country’s name or flag. .
Currently, Russian and Belarusian players can still compete at the French Open in May.
“I think this decision is wrong but we cannot change anything,” Russian Tennis Federation President Shamil Tarpischev told the country’s Sport Express newspaper earlier.
“The [Russian] The tennis federation did all it could,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk about this, but I will say that this decision goes against the athletes… We are working on the situation, that’s all I can say.”
Wimbledon has not banned athletes from other countries since World War II, when German and Japanese players were not allowed to compete.
Ahead of Wednesday’s announcement, Ukrainian tennis players Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk issued a statement calling for the banning of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international events.
The international sports pressure group Global Athlete said the two countries’ ban on athletes would also “protect athletes who have no option to disqualify themselves from competitions”.
It added: “These athletes must follow the orders of their national leaders.
Last month, British Sports Secretary Nigel Huddleston said he would not feel comfortable seeing a “Russian athlete flying the Russian flag” and winning Wimbledon in London.
