Russian players are set to be banned from the Wimbledon Championship this June in a move that will affect World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, according to reports. The All England Tennis Club had been in discussions with the government this week about barring Russian athletes from the tournament and the move is apparently set to be given the green light.
The All England Club would become the first governing body to ban Russian athletes in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It would leave Medvedev and World No. 8 Andrey Rublev unable to compete.
In March, Rublev wrote “No To War” on a television camera lense. Exceptions could be made to athletes who openly condemn Putin’s aggression, with sport minister Nigel Huddleston saying in the same month that sporting governing bodies must seek assurances that only ‘neutral athletes’ from Russia and Belarus could play in their respective competitions.
From the women’s side Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ranked No. 15), Daria Kasatkina (No. 26) and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 29) would be among those affected by the ruling. It is unclear whether stars from Belarus – a country that has sided with Russia – will be allowed to enter the draw.
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“We wish to get the assurance of that in a written declaration that they are not receiving money from [Russia president Vladimir] Putin, Russia or Belarus. That they will not be making supportive comments of Putin, Russia or Belarus.
“We are requesting governing bodies or individual events seek that assurance in advance if they are going to allow neutrals to play. If people are saying they are neutral athletes, we want the assurance that they are genuinely neutral and therefore there isn’t any connection with Putin.”
The Championship has been asked for comment.
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