- Matthew Henry
- BBC Sport reporter
The All England Club (All England Club) announced the lifting of the ban imposed on Russian and Belarusian players from last year, and the two countries will be able to participate in this summer’s Wimbledon Championships (Wimbledon Tennis Irons).
Players can play in this year’s event, provided they participate as “neutral athletes” and abide by the corresponding rules.
Players from both countries were banned from competing last year due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ support for it.
This year’s Wimbledon will begin on July 3 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).
Club chairman Ian Hewitt said: “We continue to fully condemn the Russian invasion and we remain wholeheartedly behind the people of Ukraine.”
“This is an exceptionally difficult decision, not taken lightly, but with careful consideration of those who will be affected.”
The decision also applies to other tennis events held in the UK prior to Wimbledon, most notably the Queen’s Club Championship and the Eastbourne International.
The rules that players must abide by are:
- Agree not to support Russia and/or Belarus or their regimes and leaders
- No sponsorship from the Russian and/or Belarusian government, including sponsorship from government-run or controlled corporations
Athletes have been able to compete as neutral players in professional tennis – including other Grand Slam tournaments – outside of Wimbledon and other UK events, while Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have been banned since last year. ordered to be fined.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club said the decision on the 2023 tournament was made following discussions with the UK government, the LTA and international stakeholders.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club and the Lawn Tennis Association said they supported last year’s stance, but tennis’ two major professional tours – the Men’s Association Tennis Professional (ATP) and the women’s International Tennis Association – will not be able to make a move this year if they don’t change their stance. (WTA) will cancel their membership in the LTA.
As a result, the Queen’s Club Championship, Eastbourne International and other UK grass-court events will not take place, damaging the finances of UK tennis organisations.
Three players from Russia, Daniil Medvedev (Medvedev), Andrey Rublev (Andrey Rublev) and Daria Kasatkina (Daria Kasatkina) Within the top 10 in the world rankings for both men and women, they will be some of the notable players competing this summer.
World No. 2 Belarusian women’s player Aryna Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, is also likely to play at Wimbledon.
Both players and their supporting teams must sign a declaration of neutrality in order to participate.
Penalties for violating the Manifesto can range from fines to expulsion from the event.
What has changed from last year to this year?
Many sports have banned Russian and Belarusian teams and athletes in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the ATP and WTA have decided that athletes can compete under neutral flags.
Last month, Ukraine’s most famous player, Elina Svitolina, told BBC Sport that while “innocent Ukrainians are still being killed”, Russian and Belarusian athletes Must continue to be ruled out of Wimbledon.
Wimbledon’s decision last year was guided by the British government and according to market researcher You Govpoll60% of the British public supported the decision.
In addition to the fine, the WTA and ATP also said that if Wimbledon continued to engage in “nationality-based discrimination”, the two associations would cancel their membership in the LTA.
This has led the LTA to fear that those traditional events held before Wimbledon will be permanently cancelled.
The LTA has been fined $750,000 (£608,355) by the WTA and $1m (£811,140) by the ATA for banning players from both countries in 2022 on tours organized by the two associations.
“There is no question that the loss of membership by the LTA to these tours would be very disruptive and far-reaching,” said LTA president Scott Lloyd.
The LTA statement also said: “This will be felt by the millions of fans who follow the sport, by the grassroots of the sport, including coaches and venues that rely on the exposure of events to attract new players, and of course professional players in the UK. the impact of this.”
“With this in mind, and as the national governing body for British tennis, we have worked closely with the UK government, the ATP, WTA and ITF (International Tennis Federation), as well as the All England Club, to find a solution for 2023.”
The All England Lawn Tennis Club also said: “Tennis outside the UK has gone through a year of ‘neutral’ players from Russia and Belarus.”
“We think consistency between Grand Slam tournaments is becoming more and more important in today’s tennis environment.”
Ukraine accuses Wimbledon of being immoral
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, described the Wimbledon turnaround as “immoral” and called on the British government to deny visas to Russian and Belarusian players.
“Has Russia stopped its attacks and atrocities? No, it’s just that Wimbledon has decided to accommodate two accomplices,” he tweeted.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer agreed with the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s decision to lift the ban in 2023 – as long as players abide by neutral conditions set by the government.
“In the course of Putin’s ongoing war on Ukraine, we have made it clear that Russian and Belarusian athletes representing the country should not be allowed to represent the country in international sporting events. That position remains valid,” she said.
“Independent, self-financed Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete in the UK, provided they follow our guidelines on neutrality. So we support the AELTC and LTA’s approach even following the guidelines.”
“The AELTC and LTA should not have been fined by the international tennis circuit for taking a principled stand against Russian aggression.”
A joint statement from the ATP and WTA did not respond to the criticism but said it was “delighted that all athletes have the opportunity to compete”.
“It was a collaborative effort by all parties in the sport to arrive at a workable solution that preserves the integrity of the sport,” tour organizers said.
“This remains an extremely difficult situation and we wish to thank Wimbledon and the LTA for their efforts to achieve this, while also reaffirming our unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
The ATP and WTA dropped Wimbledon’s world ranking points last year – making it difficult for players with strong records at the event, such as Kazakhstan’s women’s champion Elena Rybakina However, with the decision to lift the ban, this year’s points will be recalculated.