The Wimbledon Tennis Tournament Organizing Committee announced that it would allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part in the competition this year. As follows from a statement released on March 31, the Russians and Belarusians will be admitted to the tournament as "neutral" athletes.
In particular, tennis players are prohibited from speaking out in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as from receiving government funding, including sponsorship from state-controlled companies. The tournament at Wimbledon will be held from 3 to 16 July.
Wimbledon became the only Grand Slam tournament to which tennis players from Russia and Belarus were not allowed to participate in 2022 – in the rest they could participate in a neutral status. As a result, the ATP and WTA tennis associations decided not to award ranking points to the participants of the Wimbledon tournament, and also fined the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) of Great Britain for $ 1 million.
There are currently two Russians in the top 10 men's rackets in the world: Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev. The women's top 10 includes Arina Sobolenko of Belarus, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, and Daria Kasatkina of Russia.
On March 31, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a decision according to which Ukrainian athletes are prohibited from participating in competitions to which Russians and Belarusians are allowed.