Wimbledon on collision course with tennis world after player ban

Wimbledon has set itself on a potential collision course with the rest of tennis after banning Russian and Belarusian players from this summer’s championships due to the scale and severity of the invasion of Ukraine. The decision was taken after nearly two months of deliberations and legal advice, with the All England Club also concerned about the image it would present if the world No 2, Daniil Medvedev, lifted its famous silver gilt cup on Centre Court.

In an unusually strong statement Wimbledon expressed “sadness” that individual players would suffer, but stressed it wanted to play its part “to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible”. “In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with the Championships,” it added.

The Lawn Tennis Association, which runs all the other major summer grass court tournaments in Britain, including the prestigious Queen’s Club event, has also announced a ban. Those set to miss out include the men’s world No 8, Andrey Rublev, who wrote “No war please” on a TV camera lens after a match in Dubai, and the two-times women’s grand-slam champion Victoria Azarenka.

However that may not be the end of the matter, with Wimbledon and the LTA’s decision being condemed by the ATP, the governing body of men’s tennis, as “unfair” and “discriminatory”. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ATP – along with the WTA, which runs the women’s game – has only required tournaments to bar Russian and Belarussian players from displaying