Wimbledon is set to announce that Russian and Belarusian players will be excluded from this year’s tournament as a result of the Ukrainian war, according to two media sources.
Sports business website Sportico and The New York Times have confirmed the decision through an unnamed source/sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to speak on behalf of The All England Club. The development comes amid mounting speculation in recent weeks that such a move was being considered. Even though no other tournament has implemented such a ban on players.
Russian players have been banned as a result of their president Valdamir Puntin who has been conducting what he calls a ‘special operation’ against Ukraine since February 24th. Belarussian players have also been banned as a result of their country’s support of Russia in the conflict. The United Nations says the civilian death toll of the war in Ukraine has exceeded 2000 but there are fears the number could be much higher.
Should The All England Club proceed with their decision, the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka and Anastasia Pavlychenkova will not be allowed to play. Although they will not be excluded from other events in Britain which fall under the jurisdiction of the ATP, WTA and ITF. As of this week, there are 17 players from either Russia or Belarus currently ranked in the top 100 with 12 of those being on the women’s Tour.
Earlier this month Wimbledon officials confirmed that they were in ongoing talks with the UK government about the issue. According to the Press Association, Wimbledon may be allowed to implement a ban on players without legal repercussions due to its independent status.
“We have noted the UK Government’s guidance regarding the attendance of Russian and Belarusian individuals in a neutral capacity at sporting events in the UK,” The All England Club said in a statement issued on April 7th.
“This remains a complex and challenging issue, and we are continuing to engage in discussion with the UK Government, the LTA, and the international governing bodies of tennis.
“We plan to announce a decision in relation to Wimbledon ahead of our entry deadline in mid-May.”
Wimbledon would become the first tennis tournament to implement such a ban. In a joint-decision made by tennis’ seven governing bodies earlier this year, players from those countries are allowed to continue playing but only as a neutral athlete. The tennis federations have also been suspended from team events and the Kremlin Cup in Moscow has been suspended until further notice.
Steve Simon, who is the CEO of the WTA, has previously said he was against any decision to punish players as a result of their government’s action. Although he concedes his organization will have no option but to follow the rules if they come into effect.
“It will force us to change our position, because obviously we have to follow the rules of government,” Simon told BBC Sport.
“I feel very, very strongly that again these individual athletes should not be the ones that are being penalised by the decisions of an authoritarian leadership that is obviously doing terrible, reprehensible things.
“But if that happens, which is again part of the overall strategy of making Russia, and Russian citizens, pay the consequence for the decision their government has made, then it won’t be something that we support.
“We are hopeful that they will refrain from that because I think there are an awful lot of other issues that go with it.”
Critics argue that such a ban by Wimbledon to punish Putin over his military actions could have the opposite effect. It is plausible that Russia could use such a move to push forward their narrative of the west being anti-Russian and use it in their propaganda campaigns.
There is yet to be any reaction from the Russian or Belarussian authorities and it is unclear if they will do so until the decision is publicly confirmed. In other sports as Athletics, as well as the Paralympic Games, they have already been banned from participating.
The Wimbledon Championships is set to begin on June 27th.
