According to a report, Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be banned from competing at this year’s Wimbledon in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
If the ban, announced by the sports website Sportico, is confirmed, stars, including world number two Daniil Medvedev, number eight Andrei Rublev and Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, will be prevented from playing in the third tournament of the 2022 Grand Slam.
The All England Club, which is hosting the tournament in south-west London this summer, will be the first tennis organization to flatly deny Russian players.
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Image: Russian Andrei Rublev is number eight in the world Image: Russia Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will also be affected by the ban
The news comes as Russia faces constant pressure from the West to end its invasion of Ukraine – forcing millions to flee their homes.
On behalf of women, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (15th in the world rankings), Daria Kasatkina (26th) and Veronika Kudermetova (29th) will be among those affected by the decision.
Belarusian players Sabalenka (number four) and Victoria Azarenka (number 18) will also be affected.
Belarus supports Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has said the reported ban is unacceptable and that the tournament itself will suffer.
Image: Rublev made headlines after writing “no war, please” on TV after a match in February
ATP and WTA Tours and the International Tennis Federation have allowed players from Russia and its ally Belarus to continue competing, but are barred from displaying their national flags or playing their national anthems.
This year’s Wimbledon will be held from June 27 to July 10.
Several publications have previously reported that British government officials are in talks with the Grass Tennis Association and are considering banning Russian athletes in the grass court tournament.
Last month, Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston suggested that Medvedev and his fellow Russian players not be able to compete at Wimbledon unless they somehow reassure the government that they are not supporters of President Putin.
In February, Rublev made headlines after writing “No War, Please” on television after defeating Poland’s Hubert Hurkatz at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Image: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic wins his sixth Wimbledon title last year to equal Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s record in 20 Grand Slam tournaments
In the same way, Medvedev repeated the message and said he was “all for peace” after his quarterfinal victory over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka at the Mexican Open.
What other sporting events have been banned in Russia?
Russian athletes and teams have been subject to various removals and sanctions from a number of sports organizations for invading Ukraine.
Russian Paralympians were removed from the Winter Paralympics shortly after the invasion began, while Russian and Belarusian runners were barred from participating in the Boston Marathon.
The country’s football team was removed from qualifying for the Men’s World Cup later this year, and in February the IOC recommended banning Russian athletes from international competitions, leading to the removal of Russian teams and individuals from competitions at dozens of major sporting events. .
Some Russian athletes have been screened for branding the “Z” symbol associated with the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last month, Russian gymnast Ivan Kulyak was criticized for wearing the “victory” symbol on the podium next to a Ukrainian athlete.
He later told Russian state media that he did not regret it.
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