After the outbreak of armed conflict, the World Tennis Federation allowed players from Russia and Belarus to participate in tournaments, but it is officially known that it will be completely different during this year’s edition of the prestigious Wimbledon. Media reports confirmed it, and organizers issued a statement on the matter on Wednesday.
Official: Russians and Belarusians will not participate in Wimbledon
“We share the broad condemnation of Russia’s illegal activities and have carefully considered the situation in light of our responsibilities to athletes, our society and the wider British public as a British sporting organisation. We have also taken into consideration the UK Government’s guidelines particularly in relation to sporting organizations and events.” – We read in the advertisement.
The organizers further emphasized that they feel obligated to join the activities of all organizations in the world that lead to the limitation of Russia’s global influence. “In the conditions of this unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian system to take advantage of the participation of Russian or Belarusian tennis players in the tournament. Therefore, we deeply regret that, with great regret, refused the applications of the players of Russia and Belarus for the 2022 tournament ”- Confirmed in the press release.
– We realize that it is difficult for those affected and they will suffer because of the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime. We have carefully considered alternative measures that could be taken within British government guidelines, but given the great importance of the tournament, we will not allow the importance of sport to be used to strengthen the Russian system, commented Ian Hewitt, president of the All England Club.
Earlier, sportico.com published rumors about the exclusion of Russians and Belarusians from Wimbledon. We read in these reports that the tournament organizers did not agree with the British government’s decision to allow players to participate in the competition on a neutral basis. This also applies to the upcoming Wimbledon tournament.
The shortage of tennis players from Russia and Belarus during the London Grand Slam means that the men’s competition, with the exception of Daniil Medvedev, will also be missing, among others the eighth place in the ATP rankings by Andrei Rublev. On the other hand, among the women, Belarusian Arina Sabalenka could not take part in the WTA rankings, as well as Anastasia Pavlyukhinka, 15th in the world.
This year’s edition of the legendary British competition will take place from 27 June to 10 July. – If conditions change significantly by June, we will look into it and react accordingly – the organizers have also secured themselves.
