Wimbledon drops ban on Russian and Belarusian players
Wimbledon has lifted a controversial ban on Russian and Belarusian players from competing at this summer’s Championships.
The All England Club moved to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to last year’s tournament, citing advice from the UK Government following the invasion of Ukraine, but its decision was criticised by the other three grand slams and both men’s and women’s professional tours.
In response, Wimbledon was stripped of its ranking points and the ATP fined the Lawn Tennis Association £820,000, after it backed Wimbledon’s stance and banned Russian and Belarusian from the other grass-court tournaments hosted in the United Kingdom.
The England Club’s decision sees Wimbledon fall back in line with the rest of the sport, where players from Russia and Belarus have been allowed to compete under neutral flags since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
A statement from Wimbledon read: “Our current intention is to accept entries from Russian and Belarusian players subject to them competing as ‘neutral’ athletes and complying with appropriate conditions.”
It added: “The conditions have been carefully developed through constructive dialogue with the UK Government, the LTA and international stakeholder bodies in tennis, and are aligned with the Government’s published guidance to sporting bodies in the UK.”
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