LONDON − Men’s tennis world number two Daniil Medvedev is set to be barred from this year’s Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament as The Times reported organisers are to ban Russian and Belarus players due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian and Belarusian players have been able to continue to compete in Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) events under a neutral flag since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
It was believed this would extend to the three remaining Grand Slam events − though the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has banned both countries’ teams from the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup.
However, The Times says sources have told them that after almost two months of talks, Wimbledon organisers prefer to ban the players rather than adhere to a compromise solution offered by the British government.
That would have seen the likes of Medvedev and last year’s Wimbledon women’s singles semi-finalist Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus sign statements that they would not make supportive comments of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Wimbledon organisers believe signing such statements could impact negatively on the families of the players.
It is likely that this will apply to all British grass-court tournaments this summer.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), which oversees key Wimbledon warm-up tournaments such as Queen’s and Eastbourne, said last week they would follow Wimbledon’s lead.
“We think from a public perspective and, indeed, a practical implementation perspective that there needs to be alignment (between the All England Club and LTA) so it is really clear and understood,” said LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd.
“That is critically important.”
Russian and Belarus players have been muted in their condemnation of the war though men’s world number eight Andrey Rublev did scrawl “no war please” on a TV camera when competing in Dubai just after the invasion took place.
Medvedev − presently recuperating after a hernia operation − restricted himself to saying “I want peace in all of the world”.
However, Belarusian tennis star Victoria Azarenka − a former world number one and two-time Grand Slam title winner − was more outspoken than most.
“It is heartbreaking to see how many innocent people have been affected and continue to be affected by such violence,” the 32-year-old said in March.
“I have always seen and experienced Ukrainian and Belarusian people as friendly and supportive of each other. It’s hard to witness the violent separation currently taking place.”
Belarus is seen as an ally of Russia and facilitated the invasion by allowing troops to cross over their border into Ukraine. – AFP, April 20, 2022
