Wimbledon: Russian bans for fear of royal trophy handover?
There are increasing rumors that the suspension of the Russian and Belarusian players for the lawn major at Wimbledon could have something to do with the trophy being handed over by the royal family. A crooked look is feared.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Apr 22, 2022, 11:10 pm
Wimbledon has a handful of truly unique traditions. One of them is that the cup is awarded at the end of the tournament by a representative of the British royal family - in the best case by the patron of the "All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club". Until recently, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent carried out these agendas, but now Kate Middleton, also known as Cathrine, Duchess of Cambridge, has taken on such formal duties.
Crooked optics are feared
According to an article in the British newspaper "Daily Telegraph", this circumstance could ultimately have led to the suspension of all Russian and Belarusian tennis athletes from the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon. As reported , the British Tennis Association, LTA, announced on Wednesday that it would exclude all Russian and Belarusian professionals from the classic grass court in London. In addition to Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev for the men, this would also affect Aryna Sabalenka or Viktoria Azarenka for the women.
Supposedly, the crooked look of a theoretical trophy handover from "Kate" to the second in the world rankings, Medvedev, is said to have weighed heavily on the stomachs of some officials and political decision-makers. Most recently, in 2021, the Duke of Kent led the handover ceremony to winner Novak Djokovic for the very last time, in 2019 the Duchess of Cambridge had its premiere - also with an award to the Serbian world number one.