Wimbledon has banned Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s tournament in response to the invasion of Ukraine, but ATP and WTA organizers on Wednesday branded the move “unfair” and “very disappointing.”
The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which runs Wimbledon, said it was acting to “limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible.”
Russian men’s world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and Belarusian female world No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka — a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year — are the leading players affected by the ban.
Photo: AFP
“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players,” the club said in a statement. “Given the profile of the Championships in the United Kingdom and around the world, it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible.”
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has also banned Russian or Belarusian players from competing in other British grass-court tournaments, including Wimbledon warm-up events at Queen’s Club and Eastbourne.
Players from Russia and Belarus have been allowed to compete on the ATP and WTA tours since the war in Ukraine started, but they were not allowed to use their national flags.
The ITF had already banned both countries’ teams from the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup.
ATP and WTA bosses said that the Wimbledon ban is discriminatory and sets a damaging precedent.
“We believe that today’s unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the LTA to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year’s British grass-court swing is unfair and has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game,” the ATP said in a statement. “Discrimination based on nationality also constitutes a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon that states that player entry is based solely on ATP Rankings.”
“Our sport is proud to operate on the fundamental principles of merit and fairness, where players compete as individuals to earn their place in tournaments based on the ATP Rankings,” it said.
The WTA said the decision was “neither fair nor justified.”
“We are very disappointed in today’s announcement,” the WTA said in a statement. “A fundamental principal of the WTA is that individual athletes may participate in professional tennis events based on merit and without any form of discrimination.”
Men’s world No. 1 Novak Djokovic also criticized the decision.
“I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy,” Djokovic said. “The players, the tennis players, the athletes have nothing to do with it [war]. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good.”
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