Wimbledon announced it this Friday, a year after Russian and Belarusian players refused to participate. The “intention” to accept them in the 2023 edition of the tournament (July 3-16), but with a commitment to play under a neutral flag and not support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Our current intention is to accept the participation of Russia and Belarus as long as they compete. neutral athletes and meets the requirements,” announced the All England Tennis Club in London. The decision last year to ban Russian and Belarusian tennis players from participation in Wimbledon and tournaments held in the United Kingdom has cost the British tennis federation a great deal. Economic sanction, in addition to the fact that Slam decided to remove the points it had distributed in their half (2,000 points for champions at Wimbledon).
On this occasion, and after the International Olympic Committee opened its doors to Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, ATP and WTA threatened to withdraw their rights, as well as put British tennis in a difficult position for tennis players. circuits from British tournaments (Queen’s, Eastbourne, Birmingham, Nottingham). Basic pressure to roll back last year’s ban.
Currently, the main people affected by the Wimbledon ban are Daniil Medvedev (5th in the world), Andrey Rublev (7), Karen Khachanov (14) with the Belarusian in the men’s circuit Arina Sabalenka (2) and Russian Daria Kastkina (8).