Wimbledon Lifts Ban On Russian, Belarussian Players

A year after banning Russian and Belarusian players from the All-England Club following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wimbledon has lifted the ban for 2023.

The players will continue to compete under neutral flags and will be ejected from the tournament if they voice any support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to reports.

Three Russian men are ranked inside the world’s top 15, including former world No. 1 and current No. 6 Daniil Medvedev, No. 7 Andrey Rublev and No. 15 Karen Khachanov.

On the women’s side, world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, and No. 14 Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champ, are both Belarusian and will be permitted to play.

“My understanding is that they are going to be allowed to play and I’m not going to be going nuts if that is the case,” Andy Murray told the BBC before the announcement became official. “But if Wimbledon went down another route, I would be understanding of that.”

The decision is a 180-degree turn from a year ago when Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarusian players in the wake of the war.

Wimbledon was stripped of its ranking points and the Lawn Tennis Association fined for banning Russian and Belarusian players from the championships and the ATP Tour events at Queen’s Club, Eastbourne, Surbiton, Nottingham and Ilkley.

“It’s really terrible because nobody supports the war, nobody,” Sabalenka told the Australian newspaper The Age at the end of December. The ban from Wimbledon “didn’t change anything” about the political situation, “and that’s the sad thing about it,” Sabalenka said. She added that playing under a neutral flag in Melbourne made her feel as if she comes “from nowhere.”