Wimbledon officials have confirmed that they intend to ban Russian and Belarusian players from participating in this year’s tournament because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ support for the war.
The ban will make Wimbledon the first Grand Slam tennis event to restrict individual Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing. In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Wimbledon confirmed that other tennis tournaments to be held this year in the United Kingdom plan to use the same approach.
“Given the profile of the championship in the UK and around the world, it is our responsibility to play our part in the broad efforts of government, industry, sports and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence by the strongest possible means.” statement.
“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented 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.
Wimbledon, one of four Grand Slam tournaments, is set to begin in late June. The tournament, in a statement, left open the possibility of reconsidering its position, saying that “if circumstances change significantly between now and June, we will consider and respond accordingly.”
Statement on Russian and Belarusian individuals at the 2022 championship.
– Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) April 20, 2022
The decision would exclude a number of high-ranking players. Four Russian men are ranked in the top 30 of the ATP Tour, including No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, who is the current US Open men’s singles champion, although he is recovering from a hernia operation. Russia has five women in the top 40 of the WTA Tour rankings, led by No. 15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Arina Sabalenka from Belarus is number 4 and was a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year. Her compatriot Victoria Azarenka, former No. 1, is number 18.
After the start of the war in February, professional tennis organizers rushed to ban Russians and their Belarusian allies from team events such as the Davis Cup and the Billy Jean King Cup, both of which were won by Russian teams in 2021. The seven governing bodies of the sport announced this ban collectively on March 1.
The men’s and women’s tournaments in Moscow were canceled later this season, as were a number of lower-level events in Russia and Belarus. The International Tennis Federation also announced the removal of the Russian Tennis Federation and the Belarusian Tennis Federation from ITF membership.
But Russian and Belarusian players were allowed to continue competing in professional tours as individuals, albeit without national identification. There are no longer any flags or countries listed next to their names in boards, draws or published computer charts.
Russian Daniil Medvedev during the Wimbledon tournament in 2021. He is currently number 2 in the men’s singles. Credit … Adrian Denis / Agence France-Presse – Getty Images
But there have been calls for a total ban by several former and current Ukrainian players, including women’s rising star Marta Kostyuk and former toy Olga Savchuk, Ukrainian team captain Billy Jean King for the Cup, which competes against the United States in Asheville, NC, last week. .
“I think it’s just a matter of time,” Savchuk said in an interview. “I do not make the decision, but I think they should be banned from playing as individuals. This cannot be just a sanction against 90 percent of the Russian people and 10 percent not.
“It must be even,” Savchuk added. “And I think it’s collective guilt.”
But while some other international sports, including athletics and figure skating, have banned individual Russian and Belarusian athletes from some competitions, professional tennis has taken a more conservative approach.
Alexander Dolgopolov, a former Ukrainian tennis star who is now part of the Ukrainian army, voiced support for Wimbledon’s decision. “Yes, the Russians are responsible for the actions of their country, the army and the leaders they elect for 20 years,” Dolgopolov said on Twitter.
Men’s and women’s tour officials say Russian and Belarusian players should not be blamed for their invasions or policies, and said several leading players, including Russian star Andrei Rublev, have finished 8th in the men’s singles. , and Pavlyuchenkova declared themselves against the war.
Arina Sabalenka from Belarus is number 4 in singles and was a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year. Credit … Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
“I feel very strongly that, again, these individual athletes should not be punished by the decisions of an authoritarian leadership that is obviously doing terrible, reprehensible things,” said WTA chief Steve Simon in an interview with the BBC last month. . “But if this happens, which is again part of an overall strategy to make Russia and Russian citizens pay for the consequences of their government’s decision, then it will not be something we support.
Wimbledon, the oldest Grand Slam tournament, will probably be extraordinary in this regard. The French Open, which starts next month and is the next Grand Slam event on the calendar, has not indicated that it intends to ban individual players. Nor the US Open, which will be held in New York in late August and early September. So far, regular tour events – such as this week in Barcelona, Spain; Belgrade Serbia; Istanbul; and Stuttgart, Germany – continue with Russians and Belarusians in their draws.
But Wimbledon, which starts on June 27 in London, is under considerable pressure from the British government, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, to take a stronger position. Nigel Huddleston, Britain’s sporting minister, told a parliamentary hearing last month that Russian players like Medvedev may have to provide “guarantees” that they do not support President Vladimir Putin to play at Wimbledon.
But the tournament, which is perhaps still the most prestigious in the sport, has apparently decided not to require players to expose their governments for fears that it could put them or their families in a precarious situation. The ban, while not part of Wimbledon officials’ initial thinking, would prevent players from making such a choice.
Wimbledon did not ban individual athletes from certain countries after World War II, when players from Germany, Japan and other nations were not allowed to play in the tournament.
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