Wimbledon bans players from Russia, Belarus over Ukraine war

LONDON –

The war in Ukraine means that tennis players from Russia and Belarus won’t be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year, announced the All England Club Wednesday.

The ban has had a major impact on Daniil Medvedev (current U.S. Open champion), who was recently ranked No. 1, currently No. 2; men’s No. 8 Andrey Rublev; Aryna Sabahlenka, who is No. Victoria Azarenka, who was a former women’s No. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was the French Open runner up last year.

Medvedev, Pavlyuchenkova, and Rublev are Russian; Sabalenka is from Belarus and Azarenka from Russia.

Wimbledon starts on June 27. In March, The All England Club announced that it was in talks with the British government regarding whether Russians can play in the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

“It’s our responsibility to play our role in the widespread efforts…to limit Russia’s global influence through all means possible,” The All England Club. saidIn a tweet that was first published on Twitter. “In the context of such unjustified, unprecedented military aggression, it would not be acceptable for the Russian regime that any benefits are derive from the participation of Russian or Belarusian athletes with The Championships.”

Russian athletes have been banned from participating in many sports since the invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been supported by Belarus during the conflict.

Wednesday’s action signals that the first tennis tournament has informed players from Russia and Belarus that they are not invited to participate.

March 1, the seven organizations that oversee the sport worldwide decided that players from these countries would be allowed in WTA, ATP, and Grand Slam tournaments. However, they will not be permitted to compete under the flag of Russia or Belarus. They were also expelled from the Billie Jean King Cup, Davis Cup team competitions. Russia had been the reigning champ in both.

The French Open, which begins on May 22, is the first Grand Slam event since Russia invaded Ukraine. It will allow Russian and Belarussian competitors to compete.

The All England Club saidIf “circumstances” change between now and June, it will “respond accordingly.”

“We recognize that this is difficult on the affected individuals and it is with sadness, that they will suffer from the actions of leaders of the Russian regime,” All England Club Chairman Ian Hewitt said. said. “We’ve carefully considered all possible alternatives to the UK Government guidance. However, due to The Championships’ high profile, the need to not allow sport to be used for the Russian regime, and our wider concerns about player and public safety, it is not feasible to proceed on any alternative basis at The Championships.”