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The Wimbledon tournament will ban Russian tennis players, including world number two Daniil Medvedev, and Belarusians from competing as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
This confirms the threats of the British Government, which, through the Minister of Sports, Nigel Huddleston, asked on several occasions that Russian tennis players had to declare in writing their independence from Vladimir Putin to prevent them from making any gesture in favor of Russia during the event.
Wimbledon thus becomes the first major competition to ban individual athletes from participating, after Russia has been banned from tournaments such as the World Cup in Qatar and other team competitions in tennis such as the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup, where they defended the titles won in 2021.
The third Grand Slam of the season loses Medvedev, the second-best tennis player in the world, as well as Andrey Rublev, number 8 in the ranking, Karen Khachanov (26), and Aslan Karatsev (30). In the case of Medvedev, his participation was already uncertain, as he will miss the entire clay-court tour due to a hernia.
As for the players who will not be able to be at Wimbledon, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (15) and Daria Kasatkina (26) stand out for Russia, while for Belarus, Aryna Sabalenka, number 4 in the ranking and semifinalist in 2021, and Victoria Azarenka (18).
Wimbledon, where Novak Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty – already retired – won in 2021, will be held from June 27 to July 10. Currently, Russian and Belarusian tennis players can play on the circuit, as long as they do not play under the flag of their respective countries or wear symbols reminiscent of them.
This will be the first time Wimbledon has barred people from a particular country since the years after World War II, when Germans and Japanese were not allowed to play the London Grand Slam.
