Just hours ago, the much-awaited Wimbledon verdict came in, which concerns whether Russian and Belarusian tennis players can play, after the poor season was banned.
But that’s not the only news. As the tournament organizers sensationally revealed and shared on the All England club’s social accounts, Wimbledon would have offered a wild card to Roger Federer, to play one last tournament on the lawns of Church Road.
The note explains:Wimblendon is the home of the greatest tennis player in history, and a wildcard for Mr. Roger Federer will always be guaranteed if he wants to play. We forwarded our proposal to Mr. Federer“.
Wimbledon welcomes Russians and Belarusians
After the entry ban imposed in 2022, Wimbledon will again welcome Russian and Belarusian tennis players this year, but as neutral athletes.
The tournament board said: “Our current intention is to accept registrations from Russian and Belarusian players, provided they compete as neutral athletes and meet the appropriate requirements.
These terms will prohibit any expression of support for the Russian invasion in various forms, as well as the registration of players receiving funds from the Russian and/or Belarusian states (including sponsorship by state-owned or state-controlled companies). ).
These conditions have been carefully developed through constructive dialogue with the UK Government, the LTA and international bodies concerned with tennis. They are in line with guidelines published by the government for sporting bodies in the UK.
Last year, we felt that the player’s personal statement option was not feasible. Since then, extensive engagement with government and tennis stakeholders has clarified and developed the form of the declarations and produced realistic measures for their implementation and enforcement.
This approach has the full support of the government and the LTA, ATP, WTA and Itf. The position taken by the All England Club and the LTA last year has drawn a strong and very disappointing reaction from some tennis governing bodies, with consequences which, if maintained, would have been detrimental to the interests of players, supporters, leagues and British tennis.
Tennis competitions outside the UK have seen a year of competition with Russian and Belarusian players competing as neutral athletes. We also believe that alignment between Grand Slam tournaments is increasingly important in today’s tennis environment.”
The decision, however, met with strong opposition from Ukraine in the person of its foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who expressed his disappointment on social media: “Wimbledon’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to participate is immoral.
Has Russia ceased its aggression or its atrocities? No, it’s just that Wimbledon decided to welcome two accomplices to the crime. I call on the UK government to deny player visas.”
If you have read the article to the end, yes, you have been the victim of an April Fool’s joke when it comes to Roger Federer’s alleged participation in Wimbledon!
