Wimbledon returns in all its verdant pomp on Monday, the sun set to shine on SW19 after two years blighted by Covid. The full resumption of the Championships will be welcomed by millions who plot their summer around a sporting fortnight played out against a backdrop of manicured lawns and cultivated blooms. But beneath the genteel surface there is change afoot.
Tension between tradition and progress at a global event run by a local tennis club is constant, but this year it has been noticeably heightened. A decision by the All England Lawn and Tennis Club (AELTC) to ban Russian and Belarusian players following the invasion of Ukraine kicked off a political spat which saw the Championships stripped of the ranking points vital to players’ careers outside marquee grand slams. It also deprived the tournament of as many as 20 competitors, including the current men’s No 1-ranked player, Daniil Medvedev, and three of the women’s top 20.
