All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) announced earlier today to reverse its controversial ban on Russian and Belarusian players and let them play at Wimbledon later this year. The decision will also apply to all other tennis tournaments in Britain including Queens and Eastbourne in the lead-up to the Championships.
The players from these two countries were initially banned from competing at Wimbledon last year by AELTC because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the support provided by Belarus to this heinous act. All England Club made this decision on the back of advice given by the UK Government for which they were severely criticised by other tennis organisations, including the men’s and women’s professional tours and other three grand slams.
The statement from AELTC regarding the participation of the Russian and Belarusian players read, “The conditions have been carefully developed through constructive dialogue with the UK Government, the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) and international stakeholder bodies in tennis, and are aligned with the Government’s published guidance to sporting bodies in the UK.”
Reversal of the ban is subject to “appropriate conditions” as per AELTC, which includes the players agreeing to compete as “neutral” athletes and not supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in any way. Furthermore, they are required to not receive funding from Russia and/or Belarus, including sponsorships from companies operated or controlled by these states.
The chairman of AELTC, Ian Hewitt, said the following about the matter, “We continue to condemn totally Russia's illegal invasion and our wholehearted support remains with the people of Ukraine. This was an incredibly difficult decision, not taken lightly or without a great deal of consideration for those who will be impacted.”
