Some of tennis’ best players, past and previous, and its member bodies like the ATP and WTA, rose in unison against Wimbledon’s decision to bar players from Russia and Belarus due to their countries’ waging war against Ukraine.
The ongoing war waged on Ukraine has prompted sporting bodies to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and organisations. Even the idea of allowing these athletes to compete under a neutral flag has been shot down across multiple sports.
Wimbledon’s statement
The organisers of Wimbledon set events in motion when they said that due to Britain’s sanctions across ‘industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence’, they would be forced to ensure that no entries from Russian or Belarusian players would be accepted in 2022.
Chairman of All England Club Ian Hewitt said, “We recognise that this is hard on the individuals affected, and it is with sadness that they will suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime.”
Lone Grand Slam
Representatives from both Russia and Belarus were quick in denouncing Wimbledon’s actions. (Twitter)
As of now, Wimbledon remains the only Grand Slam to make the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players. 17 of the Top 100 in the world, including Men’s World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and Women’s World No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka are either Russian or Belarusian.
The initial French Open entry lists have the names of players from both these countries. According to BBC, there could possibly be changes to this after the second round of the French presidential elections. The United States Tennis Association announced on Wednesday that no decision had been made with regard to players from both countries. The US Open will be held in New York in late August and early September. The ATP has said that players from both countries will still be able to represent themselves in tour-level tournaments as long as they play under a neutral flag.
Russia, Belarus condemn and threaten
Representatives from both Russia and Belarus were quick in denouncing Wimbledon’s actions. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that given the strong standing of his nation and its players in the tennis world, it would be the Wimbledon tournament that would eventually suffer. He also told BBC Sport that it was unacceptable to make athletes hostages to ‘political prejudices and hostile actions’ towards his country.
The Belarusian Tennis Federation said it would consider legal action against the Wimbledon organisers due to the damage caused to its players. “Such destructive actions in no way contribute to the resolution of conflicts, but only incite hatred and intolerance on ethnic grounds,” said the top Belarus tennis body.
ATP, WTA stand firm
Both the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) condemned Wimbledon’s decision and said that it was unfair on the players from both countries. The ATP said that the decision had ‘the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game’. The WTA too came out with a similar statement.
“Individual athletes should not be penalised or prevented from competing due to where they are from, or the decisions made by the governments of their countries,” the WTA said, according to The New York Times. “Discrimination, and the decision to focus such discrimination against athletes competing on their own as individuals, is neither fair nor justified.”
Players unite in protest
Players from past and present condemned Wimbledon’s ruling. Be it Martina Navratilova (‘In the days of apartheid, South African players would compete but South Africa could not be represented, and that regime was no better than what’s happening now’) or Novak Djokovic (‘I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good.’) a large part of the tennis community chose not to support Wimbledon’s decision.
Russian World No. 8 Andry Rublev had in February become synonymous with certain Russian sportspersons’ defiance against their own government. After a match at the Dubai Tennis Championship, Rublev signed a camera lens with ‘No war please’.
But after coming to know that he would not be allowed to play at Wimbledon, Rublev questioned the decision, calling it discriminatory and said that the tournament’s logic was questionable. He said that when discussions on how to move forward in this politically-sensitive climate were going on, he had urged Wimbledon to consider making Russian and Belarusian players sign a statement to give away all prize money earned to ‘humanitarian help’.
Ukrainian players stand by Wimbledon decision
Current as well as former Ukrainian players supported Wimbledon’s decision. Current World No. 25 and Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina called on tennis’ ruling bodies to take harsher stances on Russian and Belarusian players. In a statement on her Instagram account, Svitolina said that ‘there comes a time when silence is betrayal’. She also said that the WTA, ATP and ITF should only allow players from both the countries to play if they actively denounce their respective countries’ actions.
Her compatriot Olga Savchuk, who captained Ukraine in the Billie Jean King Cup, also said that Russian players should be banned from competing and that because 90 percent of Russians were facing the consequences of their leadership’s actions by way of sanctions, it was unfair if the other 10 percent effectively got a free pass.
“If you think about it, why is somebody who works in McDonald’s in Russia losing their job because of sanctions and the tennis players are exceptions? It has to be even, and I think it’s collective guilt.” Savchuk said.
