Wimbledon 2022: Russian and Belarusian players including Daniil Medvedev to be barred from competing, says report

A ban on Russian players from Wimbledon 2022 would prevent world number two Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, ranked eighth, from competing in the men’s draw.

Russia's world No. 2 tennis player Daniil Medvedev. (Source: Twitter)

Russian players will not be allowed to compete at Wimbledon this year due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a report in sports industry news site Sportico on Tuesday. Earlier this month, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which organises the grasscourt Grand Slam, said it was in talks with the British government on the participation of players from Russia and Belarus.

As per a new report, even the Belarusian players will be barred from playing the Grand Slam event.  

The organisers said it planned to announce a decision in mid-May ahead of the entry deadline for the June 27-July 10 tournament. The AELTC did not immediately respond to request for comment on the report.

The law generally doesn't allow discrimination on the basis of national origin, including Russia, but sports tournaments, like the Boston Marathon & now Wimbledon, can argue they aren't employers or events the public can automatically participate in. We live in interesting times. https://t.co/R1WJl4MzNK — Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) April 20, 2022

A ban on Russian players would prevent world number two Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, ranked eighth, from competing in the men’s draw. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is 15th in the women`s rankings. The report said it was unclear whether players from Belarus would also be banned. Belarus is a key staging area for the invasion, which Russia calls a ‘special operation’.

Tennis governing bodies banned Russia and Belarus from international team competitions following the invasion. Individual players are allowed to compete on tours but not under the name or flag of their countries. British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said last month that he would not be comfortable with a ‘Russian athlete flying the Russian flag’ and winning Wimbledon in London.

Dominic Thiem happy with Belgrade display despite losing on return

Dominic Thiem said he was happy with elements of his performance at the Serbia Open on Tuesday despite going down to Australian John Millman in the former US Open champion’s first Tour-level match in 10 months. The 28-year-old, who finished runner-up at the French Open twice and once at the Australian Open before winning the 2020 US Open, lost 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 after battling for over two-and-half hours at the ATP 250 event in Belgrade.

“It felt good,” said the former world number three, who spent an extended period on the sidelines after suffering a right wrist injury at the Mallorca Open last June. “Actually, I’m really happy because it was a match; it was a fight.

“I’m happy (with) how I was fighting, how I was defending, how I was moving. The backhand was pretty good. The forehand is not there yet, but I know this and I’m practising so that it`s getting better.”

Thiem, who has slipped to 54th in the rankings, returned to competitive action last month, losing in straight sets in a Challenger Tour event in Marbella. The Austrian then missed more time after testing positive for COVID-19.

(with Reuters inputs)