Wimbledon defends ban on Russian and Belarusian gamers, calls it the only viable option

LONDON: Banning Russian and Belarusian gamers from this 12 months’s Wimbledon championships was the only viable option underneath the steering offered by the British authorities, the organisers of the grass courtroom Grand Slam mentioned on Tuesday (Apr 26).

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) took the resolution in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the stand was swiftly condemned by the males’s and girls’s excursions.

AELTC Chairman Ian Hewitt mentioned the authorities steering didn’t enable gamers to compete at the match based mostly on their rankings and there have been two accessible choices – declining entries, or permitting entries however only with particular written declarations from particular person gamers.

“We believe we have made the most responsible decision possible in the circumstances,” Hewitt informed reporters, including that they’re in common discussions with the ATP and the WTA.

“And that within the framework of the governance position, there’s no viable alternative to the decision we have taken in this truly exceptional and tragic situation.”

The transfer is the first time gamers have been banned on the grounds of nationality since the rapid post-World War II period when German and Japanese gamers had been excluded.

Wimbledon can be the first tennis match to ban particular person opponents from the two international locations, which means males’s world No 2 Daniil Medvedev from Russia and girls’s fourth-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus shall be banned from the Jun 27-Jul 10 match.

Tennis governing our bodies have banned Russia and Belarus from worldwide crew competitions following the invasion, however allowed gamers from the two international locations to proceed competing as neutrals.

AELTC additionally confirmed that COVID-19 vaccination won’t be obligatory for gamers at the 2022 match, which can enable Serbian world No 1 Novak Djokovic to defend his title.

Djokovic, a 20-time main champion, was denied an opportunity to defend his Australian Open title in January as a consequence of his unvaccinated standing.