Wimbledon bans Russian, Belarusian athletes from All England Championships-Sports News , Firstpost

World No 2 Daniil Medvedev is to be affected by the ban by Wimbledon organisers. AFP

Wimbledon organisers have announced a complete ban on players from Russia and Belarus at this year’s coveted championships. The ban will affect the likes of World No 2 Daniil Medvedev, former World No 1 Victoria Azarenka and World No 4 Aryna Sabalenka.

The decision by the All England Club is enforced due to Russia and Belarus’ ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Both the countries have military forces deployed in Ukraine and hopes of peace talks have reduced over the past couple of weeks.

The ban would apply to the preceding warm-up grass court tournaments: Cinch Championships in London and Rothesay International in Eastbourne. On the women’s tour, it will apply to Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne.

“We think from a public perspective and indeed a practical implementation perspective that there needs to be alignment [between the All England Club and LTA], so it is really clear and understood,” Scott Lloyd, the LTA chief executive had said. “That is critically important.”

A ban will see Wimbledon become the first tennis tournament to suspend players from both countries. At the moment, players from Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete in individual capacities (on ATP, WTA Tours) but they are barred from team events (Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup).

There had been deliberation between the British government and All England Club organisers for nearly two months.

When asked in Miami in March, Medvedev had shrugged off the potential ban. “Don’t have any response to Wimbledon. I will need to see what happens next. I try to take it tournament by tournament. I mean, there are always different rules, regulations in order to play or not to play,” the Russian had said.

“I can play and I’m happy to play tennis, the sport I love. I want to promote the sport all over the world. We’ll have tough moments and good moments,” he added.

Officials from British Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had suggested that players could offer a written private declaration that they would not make comments in support of the Russian president Vladimir Putin, but Wimbledon organisers felt a ban was more feasible because of the potential risks to the family and friends of the players involved.

Wimbledon organisers are scheduled to address the media next week for the annual press conference.

In the past couple of weeks, Russian forces have advanced in eastern Ukraine which has reduced the chances of a peace deal between Putin and the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Wimbledon is scheduled to get underway from 27 June and culminates on 10 July.

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