Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be banned from competing at Wimbledon this summer as the sporting world continues to punish athletes as a result of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian sport has been ostracised from competing in events such as the upcoming World Cup and the Women’s European Championship while Belarusian athletes have also been punished due to their allegiance to Putin’s Russia.
Wimbledon’s main committee have now joined them and taken a prompt decision to ban Russians and Belarusians from this year’s Championships.
The decision means three of the women’s world top 20 and two of the men’s top 10 will not be competing in London.
Russian and Belarusian athletes have so far been permitted to continue playing in ATP, WTA and ITF competitions as long as they do so under a neutral flag and with no anthem played.
Russia have faced bans from UEFA and FIFA in recent weeks whilst Russian club Spartak Moscow were also expelled from the Europa League.
UK sports minister Nigel Huddleston has previously called for all Russian and Belarusian athletes to prove they are ‘genuinely neutral’ and give assurances they do not support or receive money from Putin or the Russian regime.
US Open champion Daniil Medvedev is currently the most high-profile tennis player from those countries. The 26-year-old is a doubt to play at the forthcoming French Open after undergoing hernia surgery.
Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be banned from competing at Wimbledon this year
Russian duo Daniil Medvedev (left) and Andrey Rublev (right) are both unable to compete
Three of the women’s world top 20 will also be banned – including Aryna Sabalenka (pictured)
Compatriot Andrey Rublev is eighth in the men’s world rankings, while Karen Khachanov and Aslan Karatsev are 24th and 31st respectively and Belarus’ Ilya Ivashka is 42nd.
Belarusians Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka are among the WTA tour’s top 50 ranked players, in addition to Russians Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Veronika Kudermetova, Daria Kasatkina and Ludmilla Samsonova.
Maria Sharapova was the last Russian player to be crowned Wimbledon singles champion after defeating Serena Williams in the 2004 women’s final.
Asked specifically last month whether Medvedev would be allowed to participate at Wimbledon this year, Huddleston said: ‘Absolutely nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed or enabled.
‘We need some potential assurance that they are not supporters of Vladimir Putin. We’re considering what requirements we may need.
‘Would I be comfortable with a Russian athlete flying the Russian flag? No.
‘When it comes to individuals, that gets a bit more complex so we are looking at and talking to various sports in terms of what the response and requirements should be there.’
There are fears a Russian victory would boost Vladimir Putin’s regime after invasion of Ukraine
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – who played in the 2021 French Open final – is among the WTA tour’s top 50 ranked players
Wimbledon is scheduled to take place from Monday, June 27 until Sunday, July 10.
Ukrainian forces managed to repel numerous attempted advances as Russian shelling and strikes increased on the Donbas line of control on Tuesday, a British military update said.
On one of the most dramatic days of the war, Moscow hit more than 1,200 targets as it launched its long-feared offensive in eastern Ukraine.
In what is likely to be the definitive battle for Ukraine, Russia tried to break through the 300-mile defensive front line of Kyiv’s forces.
Briefing Cabinet ministers in the morning, Boris Johnson described Ukraine’s predicament as ‘perilous’, with Vladimir Putin seemingly determined to claim victory ‘regardless of the human cost’.
Russia issued a new ultimatum for Ukrainian troops and foreign fighters holed up in the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol to lay down their arms on Tuesday
A damaged Russian tank is seen near a road in Zalisia village not far from Kyiv on Tuesday
Pictured: A damaged kindergarten in Zalisia village not far from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday
Ministers were briefed by a senior national security official who said the new phase of the war, focusing on the Donbas region, was likely to be ‘an attritional conflict’ which could last ‘several months’.
Russia’s aerial bombardment, which began in the early hours and continued throughout the day, focused on targets around Luhansk and Donetsk, the country’s industrial area producing coal and steel.
Moscow’s defence ministry said ‘high-precision air-based missiles’ had struck 13 Ukrainian positions in the Donbas, including the city of Slavyansk, where 60 Ukrainian military targets were apparently hit.
After a long and heavy bombardment, Putin’s forces then captured the city of Kreminna, leaving – according to local officials – at least 200 civilians dead.
More to follow.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk