He regularly reiterates that he is strictly against the war in Ukraine. He even renounced the Russian flag, which he removed from his social networks. But even that may not be enough for tennis player Daniil Medvedev to play at this year’s Wimbledon.
The organizers of the London Grand Slam are seriously considering excluding the second player in the world rankings and one of the biggest stars of today’s tennis world from the traditional tournament, which will take place at the All England Club in London at the turn of June and July.
According to the British daily The Telegraph, which quotes a source close to the organizers, there is a growing fear that any success of the Russian tennis player could serve the regime of Vladimir Putin.
Wimbledon is therefore ready not to let the reigning US Open champion into play.
While the tennis organizations ATP, WTA and ITF have allowed Russian and Belarusian tennis players to start under a neutral flag, London’s All England Club is an independent entity, has the status of a private member club and can take more drastic steps. We need to ban players from starting without the threat of legal consequences.
“The club has much more freedom to act than the ATP or WTA,” the source said.
While tennis organizations face legal disputes if the bans prove unjustified and deprive players of their livelihoods through no fault of their own, private clubs are not subject to discrimination laws.
In mid-March, British Sports Minister Nigel Huddlestone also spoke about stricter parameters for Russian and Belarusian tennis players.
Before Wimbledon, he would like to be sure that there is no Putin supporter among the tennis players. According to him, Russian athletes should give clear evidence that they condemn the military invasion of Ukraine.
“It is clear that no one will play with the Russian flag, but we must go even further. We want to make sure that there are no Vladimir Putin supporters among the athletes. Now we are just considering what exactly we will ask the Russians to convince us of,” he said.
“It is not possible for someone who is somehow connected to Putin, receives money from him or approves his regime to play in London,” the minister added.
Harder actions against Russian players were required by some Ukrainian tennis players, such as Marta Kostukova.
“None of the Russians have come to tell me that they are sorry for what their country is doing to mine. It hurts. Their ‘no war’ is just an empty phrase,” she said at the Indian Wells tournament.
Legendary Martina Navratilova said that if the Russians were banned from playing, they would be victims. She rejected the opinion of the tennis players and considered it dangerous for the families of Russian tennis players.
“I don’t think you should ask them to be louder on the subject because they have family members in Russia. That needs to be considered,” Navratilova said, citing 15-year sentences in Russia for declaring discrediting the country’s armed forces.
The Ukrainian Serhiy Stakhovsky, who exchanged a tennis racket for a weapon and went to defend his homeland and family, has a similar opinion.
Stachovsky pointed out that top Russian players have little in common with Russia as such.
“I’m pretty sure they didn’t vote, so it’s very difficult to take a harder stance on them,” he said, adding that Daniil Medvedev, Andrei Rublyov and Karen Khachanov had succeeded without the help of the Russian government, but with their own efforts and with the help of their family. From an early age, they prepared exclusively abroad, specifically Medvedev in southern France and Monte Carlo.
The deadline for entries for this year’s Wimbledon is in mid-May, and the All England Club still has plenty of time to agree on a move.
Medvedev may miss the grass tennis holiday, on which he has so far reached the maximum of the eighth finals. A few days ago, he announced that he had to have hernia surgery and that he would miss the courts for an estimated one or two months.
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