Shortly before Wimbledon announced in March that it was lifting its ban on Russian and Belarusian players, the tournament director, Jamie Baker, had a conversation with Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Ukrainian, who beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2013, retired in early 2022 but when, shortly afterwards, Russia invaded, he decided to go home to fight for his country.
The announcement was not a surprise, especially because the other grand slams failed to back Wimbledon. When the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association, who fined Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association, threatened to remove the licences for tournaments such as Queen’s, the All England Club was left with little choice.
