Wimbledon has banned its merchandise from being sold in Russia and Belarus as part of its ongoing condemnation of the war in Ukraine.
The All England Club (AELTC) has said it will not allow any of its products to be shipped to the two countries due to Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion.
Each year, Wimbledon sells about 450,000 pieces of merchandise, including popular items such as championships towels (£39), baseball caps (£29) and crossed-rackets logo T-shirts (£40). Previously, hundreds of official Wimbledon-branded items have been sold and shipped to Russia.
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The news comes after Wimbledon lifted a ban on Russian and Belarusian players from competing at this year’s championships. But the club has put a series of measures in place to show its continued support for Ukraine.
An AELTC spokesperson said: “We continue to totally condemn Russia’s illegal invasion and our wholehearted support remains with the people of Ukraine.
“We will donate £1 for each ticket-holder attending the championships to the British Red Cross Ukraine relief efforts, which will result in a contribution of more than half a million pounds. We will also welcome one thousand refugees to join us for a day at Wimbledon, with their food and transport provided.
“We are maintaining the ban on broadcasting the championships in Russia and Belarus, as well as the ban on Wimbledon merchandise being sold and shipped to both countries.”
Russian and Belarusian players will be required to sign neutrality agreements in order to compete at the championships after the AELTC and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) reversed the ban they imposed last year.
It comes after the men’s ATP tour and the Women’s Tennis Association punished the AELTC by withholding ranking points from last year’s event. They later imposed fines on the AELTC and LTA, totalling a combined $2m (£1.6m).
Wimbledon is now braced for echoes of the ongoing player and diplomatic disputes which have beset other tournaments. Ukraine’s No 1 tennis player, Anhelina Kalinina, who has previously spoken of the horrors of the invasion, refused to shake hands with Daria Kasatkina, Russia’s highest-ranking woman, after a defeat at Eastbourne on Monday.
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, a Wimbledon wildcard, was booed as she refused to shake hands with Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s world No 2 and second seed, after a tense quarter-final defeat at the French Open this month.
Svitolina, 28, has spoken openly about her refusal to shake hands with players from Russia or Belarus, saying: “I have my position and I’m standing by it. I’m not going to sell my country for the sake of being liked.”
Meanwhile, Sabalenka, 25, refused to attend two press conferences at Roland-Garros after being grilled about her personal stance on the war.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has described the U-turn by Wimbledon as “immoral” and said the UK government should deny visas to Russian and Belarusian players. Some players from the two countries have spoken out in recent weeks about the delays in obtaining visas.
Wimbledon is providing accommodation for Ukrainian players and their coaches throughout the grass-court season in a show of support.
The club is also continuing to abandon its strict all-white dress code for players who want to show solidarity with Ukraine. Last year, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the women’s No 1, wore a blue and yellow ribbon on her cap in a sign of unity with Ukraine.
