At the end of March, rumors began to circulate that the participation in Wimbledon of Daniil Medvedev, then the leader of the ranking and currently located in the second step, was at risk. It is that Great Britain announced that it was going to require Russian and Belarusian athletes to prove in writing that they are truly neutral to compete in sporting events in that country. However, the organizers of the English Grand Slam, the oldest and most traditional tournament on the circuit, seem disagree with that requirement and negotiate with the British Government to avoid the veto to the tennis players of those two nationalities.
“We have taken note of the UK government’s guidance regarding the attendance of Russian and Belarusian persons with neutral status at sporting events in our country.”commented the All England Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), venue of the contest.
“This remains a complex and challenging issue, and we continue to engage in discussions with the UK government, the LTA (the British Tennis Association) and international tennis governing bodies. We plan to announce a decision in relation to Wimbledon before our due date.” registration deadline, mid-May”he added.
Some days ago, Nigel Huddlestonthe UK Sports Minister, reported that a regulation would come into force whereby Russian and Belarusian athletes must prove that they are “genuinely independent and neutral”, making a written statement condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and denying any support from the Vladimir Putin regime.
“Absolutely no one flying the Russian flag should be allowed or allowed. We need some potential guarantee that they are not supporters of Vladimir Putin. what we’re looking at and talking to various sports in terms of what the answer should be and what the requirements are.”he added when referring to the particular case of Medvedev.
“This remains a complex and challenging issue,” All England said in a statement. Photo EREUTERS/Thomas Lovelock
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The three governing bodies of world tennis – the ATP, the WTA and the ITF– they took the joint decision to allow players from Russia and Belarus to continue competing on their circuits, but not under the flags of their countries. Although the participation of teams from those nations in the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup was prohibited.
Wimbledon, being an independent tournament, organized by the club and the Great Britain tennis federation, you could impose your own requirements, if required by the government of that country. Although it seems that the AELTC does not agree with the position communicated by Huddleston and they hope to be able to dispute the contest with the conditions in force today in the rest of the professional circuit.
Medvedev, current champion of the US Open and escort in the ranking of Novak Djokovic, announced after losing in the Miami quarterfinals that he will move away from the circuit between one and two months, after undergoing a hernia operation. In doubt for Roland Garros, which will start on May 22; he would be recovered to play the third “big” of the season, which will begin in London on June 27, where he must defend 180 points from last year’s round of 16.
The 26-year-old Muscovite is the main representative of the group of players from the two sanctioned countries. His compatriots also appear in the top 100 of the ATP Andrey Rubleveighth in the ranking, Karen Khachanov24°, Aslan Karatsev31st, and the Belarusian Ilya Ivashka.
Belarusian Sabalenka, a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2021 and number five in the women’s ranking, is the best placed between Russians and Belarusians. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
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Meanwhile, in the women’s circuit, the Russians appear among the first 100 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (14th and finalist at Roland Garros in 2021), Veronika Kudermetova (22ª), Daria Kasatkina (28ª), Liudmila Samsonova (31ª), Ekaterina Alexandrova (54ª), Varvara Gracheva (74ª) y Anna Kalinskaya (76th) and the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenkanumber five in the world and semi-finalist in the AELTC last year, Victoria Azarenka (17th) and Aliaksandra Sasnovich (51ª).
All – except for Azarenka, who will not be at Wimbledon anyway after announcing that she will take a break from tennis due to extreme stress – could be forced to “sign” their neutrality if the British government has its way and Wimbledon cannot reverse the measure.
