It’s official. What was a threat this morning has become a reality. Daniil Medvedev will not be able to compete on the grass at Wimbledon this year. The organization of Wimbledon has made the decision not to let tennis players from Russia and Belarus compete following the invasion and the Ukraine War.
The measure, promoted by British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston, will finally also apply to the third Grand Slam of the seasonthe great grass tennis event, being the first circuit tournament to prohibit the participation of tennis players of both nationalities, who until now could continue to compete on the circuit but without the colors of their national flags. To date, only the ITF had made the decision to exclude Russia and Belarus from official tournaments after leaving them out of the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup in this year’s edition.
Throughout this morning, a senior official of one of the international tennis institutions confirmed to the New York Times that the tournament had already made the decision to enforce this ban. Among the tennis players who would be affected, the figure of Daniil Medvedev, current number two in the ATP ranking, and Andrey Rublev, number 8 in the world. Meanwhile, in the women’s team, players such as the Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or the Belarusians Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenkathis last number 4 in the WTA ranking, will also be left without playing one of the big events on the calendar.
Here is the official announcement of the tournament
“On behalf of the All England Club and the Championships Management Committee, we wish to express our continued support for all those affected by the conflict in Ukraine during this very shocking and distressing time.
We share the universal condemnation of Russia’s illegal actions and have carefully considered the situation in the context of our duties to the players, to our community and to the wider UK public as a British sporting institution. We have also taken into account the guidelines set out by the UK Government specifically in relation to sporting bodies and events.
Given the profile of the Championships in the UK and around the world, it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts by Government, industry and sports and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence through the most appropriate means. strong possible.
In the circumstances of such unprecedented and unjustified military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefit from the participation of Russian or Belarusian players in the Championship.
Therefore, it is with deep regret that we intend to refuse the entries of Russian and Belarusian players to the 2022 Championships.
Ian Hewitt, Chairman of the All England Club, commented: “We recognize that this is hard on the individuals affected, and it is with sadness that they will suffer from the actions of the Russian regime leaders.
“We have considered very carefully what alternative measures could be taken within the guidance of the UK Government, but given the high profile environment of The Championships, the importance of not allowing sport to be used to promote the Russian regime and our With broader concerns for the safety of the public and the players (including their families), we do not believe it is feasible to proceed otherwise at The Championships.”
If circumstances materially change between now and June, we will consider it and respond accordingly.
We also welcome the LTA’s decision to refuse Russian and Belarusian player entries to UK events, to ensure British tennis takes a consistent approach throughout the summer.”
The ATP considers the decision “unfair”
The Association of Professional Tennis Players has published a statement where It distances itself from the decision made by the tournament and the British Tennis Federation (LTA).
The organization considers the “unilateral decision” “unfair”, in addition to the fact that “it can set a detrimental precedent for the sport”. Here the full statement:
“We strongly condemn the reprehensible Russian invasion of Ukraine and stand in solidarity with the millions of innocent people affected by the ongoing war.
Our sport prides itself on operating on the fundamental principles of merit and fairness, where players compete as individuals to earn their place in tournaments based on ATP rankings. We believe that today’s unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the LTA to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year’s British grass-court tournament is unfair and may set a damaging precedent for the sport.
Discrimination based on nationality is also a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon, which states that player entry is based solely on ATP ranking.. Any course of action in response to this decision will now be assessed in consultation with our Board of Directors and Member Councils.
Importantly, players from Russia and Belarus will continue to be able to compete in ATP events under a neutral flag., a position that has so far been shared by all of professional tennis. In parallel, we will continue our joint humanitarian support to Ukraine in the framework of Tennis Plays for Peace,” he concludes.
Russia considers this decision “inadmissible”
Russia today described as “inadmissible” the exclusion of its tennis players from the Wimbledon tournament, the third Grand Slam of the season, which starts on June 27, in punishment for his “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“It is inadmissible to once again make athletes hostage to political intrigues and prejudices, to actions hostile to our country,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said. commenting at a press conference on the information about the veto of Russian tennis players.
He stressed that “taking into account that Russia is a very strong country in tennis – Russian tennis players are at the top of the world ranking-, with their marginalization they will lose their own competitions”.
Peskov wished Russian tennis players to continue training and preserve the state of form.