“We recognize that this is hard on the tennis players affected. It is deeply saddened that they have to suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime,” said Ian Hewitt, president of the All England Club.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov denounced the exclusion of Russian tennis players earlier in the day, when the report had not yet been officially confirmed. “Given the fact that Russia is a strong tennis country, the tournament will suffer greatly. Taking athletes hostages of political intrigue is unacceptable. I hope the players will not lose their fitness,” he said.
Medvedev will participate in the grass tournament in Rosmalen at the beginning of June. The Russian wanted to use that tournament in preparation for Wimbledon, which will take place from June 27 to July 10.
The international tennis organizations have banned Russian and Belarusian teams from international competitions. Individually, players may participate in international tournaments, but not under their country’s flag. Wimbledon will be the first tournament where individual players from Russia are also banned.
“Discrimination based on nationality is a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon”
Medvedev and Rublev are currently the number 2 and 8 in the world. Karen Khachanov and Aslan Karatsev are also still in the top thirty in the global ranking. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is the highest ranked Russian in 15th place.
Tennis players from Belarus, which is considered an ally of Russia in the war against Ukraine, are also banned from Wimbledon. That affects Arina Sabalenka, the world’s number 4 among women, and Viktoria Azarenka, the number 18.
Tennis associations angry
The tennis associations ATP and WTA believe that Wimbledon is guilty of discrimination on the basis of nationality. The organization of the English grand slam tournament announced on Tuesday that tennis players from Russia and Belarus will not be welcome at Wimbledon next summer because of the war in Ukraine. The British tennis association LTA reported that this applies to all tournaments in Great Britain.
The ATP soon came up with a response. “We strongly condemn Russia’s reprehensible invasion of Ukraine,” the men’s tennis organization wrote. “We stand in solidarity with the millions of innocent people affected by this war. In our sport, we pride ourselves on having fundamental principles where players compete to compete in tournaments based on the ATP rankings. We believe that the unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the British Tennis Federation to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from the British grass season is unfair and potentially sets a damaging precedent for the sport. Discrimination on the basis of nationality is a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon, which states that the admission of players is based solely on the ATP rankings.”
The women’s tennis association WTA issued a similar response, saying it was “very disappointed”. “A fundamental principle of the WTA is that tennis players can participate in tournaments based on their performance, without any form of discrimination. Individual athletes should not be penalized or hindered because of their origin or as a result of decisions of the government of their country.”
Both the ATP and WTA say Wimbledon and the British Federation are acting in violation of the rules by banning Russian and Belarus tennis players such as Daniil Medvedev, Andrei Rublev, Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka. The unions threaten actions against Wimbledon and the LTA. “We will see what steps we can take with regard to this decision.”
Medvedev will come to the Netherlands in June. The organization of the grass tournament in Rosmalen announced on Tuesday that the Russian number 2 in the world will participate in the Libéma Open at the beginning of June.