Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton has admitted that she is concerned about the possibility of Daniil Medvedev and other Russian tennis stars being used as propaganda by Vladimir Putin’s regime if they are successful at the All England Club later this year. It was recently announced that players from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete at Wimbledon in the summer after they were banned from last year’s tournament due to the war in Ukraine.
Although the players in question must sign declarations indicating their neutrality before entering, there are still concerns over whether Russia will look to politicise the success of their athletes if Medvedev or one of his compatriots manage to win Wimbledon this year.
“Neutrality declarations are focused on trying to reduce that as much as possible, [but] that remains somewhat of a concern,” Bolton told the BBC. “Russian and Belarusian athletes that compete this year will be signing a neutrality declaration that requires them not to express support for the invasion or the regimes, not to be financially supported by the regimes or companies closely linked, and compete as neutrals without the flag or country name associated.”
Bolton went on to explain that the All England Club has been speaking with Ukrainian players about the decision to reverse last year’s ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes and that further talks have been scheduled to take place before Wimbledon gets underway in early July.
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“We appreciate it is an incredibly challenging time for them as they compete on the tour but they have been competing on the tour alongside Russian and Belarusian athletes for a year,” added Bolton. “Our position on Russia’s invasion hasn’t changed. We absolutely condemn that and our wholehearted support remains with the people of Ukraine.”
The decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players at Wimbledon this year has been warmly received by the athletes in question, although there has still been plenty of opposition from those closer to Ukraine. The country’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, recently accused Wimbledon chiefs of lacking morals before urging the UK government to step in and deny visas to those players who would have been banned under last year’s rules.
“Wimbledon’s decision to permit the participation of Russian and Belarusian players is immoral,” wrote Kuleba on Twitter. “Has Russia ceased its aggression or atrocities? No, it’s just that Wimbledon decided to accommodate two accomplices in crime. I call on the UK government to deny visas to their players.”
The reversing of last year’s ban is likely to see the return of ranking points to Wimbledon after they were removed from the previous edition of the tournament by the ATP and WTA in protest against the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players. It meant that Wimbledon was essentially treated by athletes as an exhibition event, with the results having no bearing on the world rankings due to the lack of any points being awarded.
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