LONDON – Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be able to participate in this year’s Wimbledon. The All England Club lifted the ban it imposed last year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The BBC reported.
This year, Russian and Belarusian players will be able to participate in the Grand Slam tournament, provided they compete as neutral athletes and meet strict criteria.
“We continue to fully condemn Russia’s illegal invasion, and our full support remains with the Ukrainian people. This was an incredibly difficult decision that we did not take lightly.” said AELTC chairman Ian Hewitt.
The resolution also applies to other British events that take place in the period before Wimbledon, especially the tournaments in Queen’s and Eastbourne.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called this step immoral. “Has Russia stopped its aggression? No, it’s just Wimbledon that decided to admit two accomplices. I call on the UK government to refuse visas to their players.” wrote Kuleba on the Twitter social network.
Tennis players from Russia and Belarus will only be able to compete at Wimbledon if they do not support their state regimes and cannot accept financial rewards from either country, including sponsorship from companies they manage or control.
Players and their support staff will be required to sign a statement of neutrality in order to compete. Violation of these statements will result in penalties ranging from fines to expulsion from the tournament.
ATP and WTA are satisfied with the result
The AELTC said they made the decision following discussion with the UK Government, the British Tennis Association and international stakeholders. The AELTC and LTA further said they stand by last year’s decision, but say that without this year’s change, Queen’s, Eastbourne and other UK grass-court tournaments would have been cancelled, causing financial damage to British tennis fans and organisations.
The ATP and WTA said in a joint statement that they were satisfied with the result: “It took a concerted effort from across the sport to arrive at a workable solution that protects the fairness of the game. The situation remains extremely complex and we would like to thank Wimbledon and the LTA for their efforts in achieving this result. However, we would like to reiterate our unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
The Russian trio Daniil Medvedev, Andrej Rubľov and Daria Kasatkinová, who are all in the top ten of the men’s and women’s rankings, are among the most high-profile names that can return to Wimbledon after a one-year hiatus.
This also applies to the Belarusian women’s world number two Aryna Sabalenko, who won the Australian Open this year. This year’s Wimbledon tournament will begin on July 3. The women’s final will be on July 15 and the men’s title fight a day later.
- Author: © List
- Source: TASR
