Ukraine war: Wimbledon without Medvedev, Sabalenka and Co.?
The participation of Daniil Medvedev , Andrey Rublev or Aryna Sabalenka in the 2022 Wimbledon tournament is by no means certain. England's sports minister is keeping his options open given Russia's war of aggression (and support from Belarus) against Ukraine.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Mar 17, 2022, 08:01 am
No athlete will compete under the Russian flag in Great Britain. Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston announced this in London on Tuesday. But not good with that. “But I think we have to go further here. I believe that we have to make sure that they are not supporters of Vladimir Putin. And we are currently examining what is necessary to ensure this.”
That is indeed a big question. Already in Dubai, Andrey Rublev painted a “No War” that certainly comes from the heart on the camera lens. However, the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk recently questioned whether this was a statement against Putin in Indian Wells. Kostyuk pointed out that a capitulation by Ukraine would also bring an end to hostilities.
The WTA doesn't want to ban anyone
The story with the flag should have been settled anyway: Daniil Medvedev, Rublev, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, but also Aryna Sabalenka are competing under a neutral or no flag at the tournaments that are currently taking place. Like Victoria Azarenka, Sabalenka is a Belarusian, and she was also banned by the ATP and WTA due to Belarus' support for the Russian attack on Ukraine.
If Steve Simon, the boss of the WTA, has his way, then that was it with the sanctions. "You never know what the future holds," said Simon in Indian Wells. “But I can say that we have never banned female athletes from our tournaments as a result of their government's political positions. So it would take something very, very significant for that to change. But again, we don't know where this is all going."