Ukraine’s foreign minister says Wimbledon’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete at this year’s Championships is “immoral”.
Dmytro Kuleba called on the UK Government to deny players from the two countries visas following the invasion of Ukraine last year.
Wimbledon said players from the two countries must sign declarations of neutrality and must not express support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while competitors who receive funding from the Russian or Belarusian states, including sponsorship from state owned or controlled companies, will remain barred.
Wimbledon moved to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to last year’s tournament, citing advice from the UK Government following the invasion of Ukraine, but its decision was criticised by the other three grand slams and both men’s and women’s professional tours.
The All England Club admitted it has been forced into an “incredibly difficult decision” due to “consequences” which if continued would be “damaging” to British tennis. In falling back in line with the rest of the sport, where players from Russia and Belarus have been allowed to compete under neutral flags since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kuleba said Wimbledon have left themselves open to accusations of hypocrisy.
When announcing its decision last year, Wimbledon said the move was intended “to limit Russia’s global influence”, adding that “it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships.”
“Wimbledon’s decision to permit the participation of Russian and Belarusian players is immoral,” he said in a statement. “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.”
Wimbledon was stripped of its ranking points and the ATP fined the Lawn Tennis Association £820,000 after it backed the All England Club’s stance and banned Russian and Belarusian from the other grass-court tournaments hosted in the United Kingdom.
A statement from Wimbledon read: “Our current intention is to accept entries from Russian and Belarusian players subject to them competing as ‘neutral’ athletes and complying with appropriate conditions.” The LTA has also reversed its ban ahead of its summer’s events.
Wimbledon added: “The conditions have been carefully developed through constructive dialogue with the UK Government, the LTA and international stakeholder bodies in tennis, and are aligned with the Government’s published guidance to sporting bodies in the UK.
“The option of personal player declarations was not in our view viable last year. Since then, extensive engagement with the Government and tennis stakeholder bodies has clarified and developed the form of declarations and produced workable measures for their implementation and enforcement. This approach has the full support of the Government and the LTA, ATP, WTA and ITF.
“There was a strong and very disappointing reaction from some governing bodies in tennis to the position taken by the All England Club and the LTA last year with consequences which, if continued, would be damaging to the interests of players, fans, the Championships and British tennis.
“Tennis events outside of the UK have experienced a year of competition with players from Russia and Belarus competing as ‘neutral’ athletes. We also consider alignment between the grand slams to be increasingly important in the current tennis environment.”
