Wimbledon is going to ban players from Russia and Belarus this summer over the invasion of Ukraine.
Several top players and big names will be affected: Russia’s Daniil Medvedev won the U.S. Open last year, and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka made the Wimbledon semifinals. All told, there are about a dozen Russian and Belarusian players in the top 40 of the men’s and women’s tours, respectively.
Wimbledon announced the ban on Wednesday. The news was first reported by the New York Times.
“It is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts … to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible,” the All England Club said in a statement.
“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships. It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022.”
Wimbledon is the only tennis tournament barring players over nationality, for now; it’s the first time they’ve done so since World War II, according to the Times.
The Kremlin called the ban “unacceptable” and said that it would “make the athletes once again hostages of certain political prejudice.”
Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 15th-ranked player in the world, had previously criticized the war. “I’ve been playing tennis since I was a kid. I have represented Russia all my life. This is my home and my country. But now I am in complete fear, as are my friends and family,” she said in a since-deleted tweet.
“But I am not afraid to clearly state my position. I am against war and violence. Personal ambitions or political motives cannot justify violence.”
Eighth-ranked men’s player Andrey Rublev wrote “No war please” on a camera after a win when the invasion began in February.
The players had been competing without flags or country names since the invasion.
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