Wimbledon 2019.Photo: Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty
Russian and Belarusian tennis players will not be allowed to compete in the 2022 Wimbledon championship amid theongoing invasion of Ukraine, tournament officials announced Wednesday.
“Given the profile of The Championships in the United Kingdom and around the world, it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of Government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible,” Wimbledon officials said in astatement.
“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships,” the statement continued. “It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022.”
BOB MARTIN/AELTC/AFP via Getty
Wimbledon, which is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, would have seen a number of highly ranked Russian and Belarusian players — No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and No. 15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia and No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 18 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
The tournament hasn’t banned athletes since players from Germany and Japan were barred from competing during World War II,ESPNreports.
Wimbledon is scheduled to kick off June 27 and end July 10. Tournament officials added, “If circumstances change materially between now and June, we will consider and respond accordingly.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev.Clive Brunskill/Getty
“Discrimination based on nationality also constitutes a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon that states that player entry is based solely on ATP Rankings,” the organization said in arelease. “Any course of action in response to this decision will now be assessed in consultation with our board and member councils.”
The ATP and WTA both assured that players from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to compete in their tournaments as neutrals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin.Sergei Guneyev/TASS/Getty
The sanction unveiled Wednesday is the latest to be directed at Russia since PresidentVladimir Putinfirst began his invasion of Ukraine in late February.
After several countries refused to play against Russia in World Cup qualifying matches,FIFA and UEFA announcedthat Russian teams werebannedfrom “participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice.”
“Football is fully united here and in full solidarity with all the people affected in Ukraine,” the statement continued. “Both presidents hope that the situation in Ukraine will improve significantly and rapidly so that football can again be a vector for unity and peace amongst people.”
Russian men’s national soccer team.Alexander Demianchuk/TASS via Getty
Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday?Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.
Ahead of the decision, FIFA’s initial penalties against Russia for the World Cup — neutral matches and a new name for the Russian team — were met with backlash. In response, Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden and England said they would refuse to play the Russian team in matches.
The 2022 World Cup is scheduled to begin in November.
source: people.com
