Wimbledon and LTA management have confirmed that they are putting an end to last year ban on Russian and Belarusian players after Ukraine invasion. Grand Slam Champion’s including Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka were two of the players that were disallowed to participate in the Championships in 2022.
In a statement issued by the All England Club, the body confirmed its reversal of the decision to exclude Russian and Belarusian players being unable to compete at Wimbledon and Queens.
Players will be required, as they have since the war began, to compete as neutral athletes and will not represent their national flag. Under stipulations drawn by Wimbledon and LTA tournaments, players from both countries will have to sign undertakings confirming that they are not funded or in support of the invasion of Ukraine.
“We continue to condemn totally Russia’s illegal invasion and our wholehearted support remains with the people of Ukraine. This was an incredibly difficult decision, not taken lightly or without a great deal of consideration for those who will be impacted,” said the chairman of the All England Club, Ian Hewitt.
He continued, “It is our view that, considering all factors, these are the most appropriate arrangements for The Championships for this year. We are thankful for the Government’s support as we and our fellow tennis stakeholder bodies have navigated this complex matter and agreed on conditions we believe are workable.”
“If circumstances change materially between now and the commencement of The Championships, we will consider and respond accordingly. They will be allowed back in the UK from the Surbiton event on June 4.”
The Lawn Tennis Association banned Russian and Belarusian players last year from all tournaments governed by it. However after getting fined by WTA and ATP the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain was forced to review its decision.
“Our decision last year to ban Russian and Belarusian players from our tournaments led to significant penalties being imposed on us by both the ATP and WTA tours including the real prospect of the termination of our membership if we were to repeat the ban in 2023,” said and LTA statement.
“This would mean the cancellation of our professional tennis events at Queens, Eastbourne, Birmingham and Nottingham this year and indeed in the future. We have consistently opposed these sanctions and remain deeply disappointed by the penalties imposed on us.”
“The effect on British tennis of the LTA being expelled from the tours would be very damaging and far reaching for the game in our country. The impact would be felt by the millions of fans that follow the sport, the grass roots of the game, including coaches and venues which rely on the events for visibility and to bring new players into the game, and of course professional British players.”
How will this affect Wimbledon ranking points?
Last year ATP and WTA took away ranking points from the Championships and also froze points at the LTA events and as a result both Wimbledon 2022 singles Champions Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina missed out on valuable 2000 ranking points. However, in the light of new decision – accepting the players from Russia and Belarus – the ranking points will be available for everyone to grab and thus reflect their hard work in their rankings.