BANNED: Russian and Belarusian tennis stars set to miss out on Wimbledon

BANNED: Russian and Belarusian tennis stars set to miss out on Wimbledon.

The tournament would be the first to suspend athletes from the two countries involved in the invasion of Ukraine.

RUSSIAN and Belarusian tennis stars are set to be BANNED from taking part in this year’s Wimbledon after it was revealed organisers of the All England Club event are likely to suspend athletes from the two countries involved in the invasion of Ukraine.

The move will mean world No 2 Daniil Medvedev and the former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka will not be competing at the All England Club this summer because of the invasion of Ukraine. If it goes ahead, Wimbledon will be the first tournament to suspend players from the countries.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Medvedev – if he had recovered from his injury in time – would be the highest-profile player affected because of his country’s invasion of Ukraine. Medvedev is currently ranked No 2.

Also set to miss out are four Russian men in the top 30 and top-ten ranked Andrey Rublev (ranked 8).

One Russian woman, Anastasia Pavluychenkova, and two Belarusian women players in the top 20 are also set to miss out, including last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Aryna Sabalenka, who is the current world No 4, according to a report in the New York Times.

Currently, all players mentioned are allowed to play on the ATP and WTA tours as neutral athletes and have been allowed to put their names on the entry list for next month’s French Open, as reported by the Guardian.

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