After the rumors of the British press, the official announcement has arrived from the All England Club: Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be excluded from the next edition of the Wimbledon tournament.
The decision was made by the organizing committee of the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world in agreement with the British government: the reason, of course, is the war in Ukraine and the "war crimes" committed by the Russians with the support of the Belarusian government.
The reaction of the Kremlin is outraged, which defines the measure as "unacceptable". The London major is the first Grand Slam to take on such an initiative.
An unprecedented initiative that means excluding 4 top 30 from the men's draw, including the number 2 in the world Danil Medvedev. From the women's top 40, including the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, number 4 in the world, and the former number 1 Victoria Azarenka.
After the outbreak of the war, in mid-February, the world Federtennis banned the participation of national representatives in team tournaments, however allowing individual tennis players to take part in international events.
The ATP also speaks of an "unjust" choice that can create "a damaging precedent for tennis". "Discrimination based on nationality is also a violation of the agreement with Wimbledon according to which the admission of players is based only on the rankings", reads a note from the tennis association chaired by Andrea Gaudenzi, which will meet the Council to evaluate the situation.
(Unioneonline / L)