Wimbledon officials have decided to allow Russian and Belarusian players to return to The Championships this year, as reported by Matt Hughes of the Daily Mail. As The Daily Mail understands, Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year as neutrals and any kind of support for Vladimir Putin or the Russian regime will result in them being banned from The Championships.
Additionally, the report states that Russian and Belarusian players will likely be required to sign a Code of Conduct prior to the tournament. In recent months, Wimbledon has come under immense pressure to lift the ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
The ATP and WTA made it quite clear to Wimbledon that another ban on Russian and Belarusian players would have big repercussions. In February, it was reported that top tennis officials in Britain were concerned that another ban on Russian and Belarusian players could result in the loss of rights to host top-tier events such as Queen’s and Eastbourne.
Russian and Belarusian players ready to return to Wimbledon
Last year some of the biggest names in the game missed Wimbledon due to the ban. In 2023, tennis fans will again have the chance to see the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Daria Kasatkina, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev at The All England Club.
Just this week, Medvedev said he would wait for what the Wimbledon organizers decide to do. «I’m not going to make this decision for them or even help them make this decision. They have to go it alone for their different reasons, like they did last year.»
And I always said that I will respect this decision. I play where I can play… tennis is my job so I would be very happy to play Wimbledon. I love that tournament, but if it’s not meant to be, I’ll wait for the chance to go back there,» Medvedev said in Indian Wells.
