The British Grand Slam announced in a statement the banning of athletes, causing a great impact on world tennis. From the Kremlin they responded with annoyance, pointing out that such a decision harms the tournament more than the athletes themselves.
World tennis has woken up to one of the most high profile news in recent times. Wimbledon has announced that it will ban the participation of Russian and Belarusian tennis players in the 2022 edition of the tournament, causing a series of reactions around the world. The Kremlin reacted harshly to the decision.
The news was published in the early hours of the day by the New York Times and reproduced around the world. Such was the pressure that the Grand Slam had to come out to confirm the fact through a statement he posted on his social media.
“Under the circumstances of such unprecedented and unwarranted military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefit from the participation of Russian or Belarusian players at Wimbledon. Therefore, we intend, with deep regret, to refuse Russian and Belarusian player registrations for the 2022 Championships. reads the statement showing strong support for the Ukrainian community.
ll England Club chairman Ian Hewwit was also part of the statement. “We have looked very carefully at alternative measures which could be taken under the direction of the UK Government, but given the high profile environment of the Championships, the importance of not allowing the sport to be used to promote the Russian regime and our concerns broader for the public and the safety of the player (including the family), we do not think it is possible to proceed otherwise “, he commented. Incidentally, this opened the door for players to re-enter if the situation changes by June.
A determination that means that for the first time since World War II (when German and Japanese tennis players were barred from competing), people from a certain country cannot compete in the British Grand Slam.
Moreover, Wimbledon becomes the first tournament to take a decision of this magnitude, since so far, no sporting event, in which individual athletes compete, has banned Russian athletes . The ATP, for example, has only stipulated that tennis players compete without carrying their flag.
On the other hand, competitions by country, such as the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King, have suspended Russia from their 2022 editions. A phenomenon which is also repeated during the Football World Cup, where the country governed by Putin cannot neither be a party.
Some of the tennis players who will be affected by this measure will be Daniil Medvedev (2nd), Andrey Rublev (7th), Aslan Karatsev (22nd) and Karen Khachanov (26th) . In the feminine domain, stellar names such as Aryna Sabalenka (3rd), Victoria Azarenka (15th) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (14th) They won’t be there either.
Russia officially responds
As soon as the New York Times report was made public, the Kremlin commented on the veto to its athletes, calling the exclusion of Russian tennis players from the tournament, which begins on June 27, “inadmissible”.
“It is inadmissible to once again hold athletes hostage to political intrigue and prejudice, to actions hostile to our country said the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov during a press conference in the early hours of the morning.
Adding that this measure harms the tournament more than the athletes themselves. “Considering the fact that Russia is a very strong country in tennis -Russian tennis players are at the top of the world ranking-, with their marginalization, they will lose their own competitions said Peskov.
Finally, the Russian spokesperson wished Russian tennis players the best, encouraging them to continue training and maintaining their physical fitness.
The British government had already threatened
Despite the fact that the decision taken by Wimbledon falls under full autonomy, the proposal is entirely in line with what was preached by the British Minister for Sport a few weeks ago. Nigel Huddleston, portfolio manager, had said no one under the Russian flag should be able to compete and even recommended that athletes declare their rejection of the invasion of Ukraine.
“Absolutely no one under the flag of Russia should be able to compete. A lot of players have multiple nationalities and I’m sure they are ready to compete with some of them or under a neutral flag, but we need to go further. We need to be certain that they are not supporters of Vladimir Putin and we are thinking about the requirements we might need to obtain guarantees in this regard”, Huddleston had commented.
“I don’t think people would very clearly accept people waving the Russian flag, especially if there is any support for Putin and his regime. “, he added on this occasion.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
