Russian, Belarusian Players Officially Barred From Wimbledon

Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be banned from Wimbledon due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the tournament announced Wednesday.

The news was previously reported by Sportico.

“It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022,” Wimbledon announced.

Ian Hewitt, Chairman of the All England Club, added: “We recognise that this is hard on the individuals affected, and it is with sadness that they will suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime.

“We have very carefully considered the alternative measures that might be taken within the UK Government guidance but, given the high profile environment of The Championships, the importance of not allowing sport to be used to promote the Russian regime and our broader concerns for public and player (including family) safety, we do not believe it is viable to proceed on any other basis at The Championships.”

Wimbledon becomes the first tennis tournament — and the first major — to ban Russian players due to the war. The ATP and WTA currently allow Russian players to compete but they are barred from displaying their national flags or playing their national anthems.

The decision means that world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, the reigning U.S. Open champion, No. 8 Andrey Rublev and two other Russian men ranked in the ATP Tour’s Top 100 won’t be able to compete at the event running June 27-July 10. Rublev made headlines last month when he wrote “no war please” on a television camera lens after winning a match in Dubai.

There are eight Russian women in the WTA Tour’s Top 100, including No. 15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, No. 26 Daria Kasatkina and No. 29 Veronika Kudermetova.

World No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 18 Victoria Azarenka. a two-time Grand Slam champion, are from Belarus.

The Wimbledon decision stands in stark contrast to the French Open, which is allowing Russian and Belarusian players to compete at its event May 22-June 5.

British sports minister Nigel Huddleston said in March that “absolutely nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed or enabled” in Great Britain. He mentioned the possibility that Russian athletes could be screened regarding their allegiance to President Vladimir Putin.

“We wish to get the assurance in a written declaration that they are not receiving money from Putin, Russia or Belarus,” he said.

(This post was updated at 10:42 ET on April 20. Reuters contributed reporting.)