By Russell FullerBBC tennis correspondentLast updated on .From the section Tennis
Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to play at Wimbledon this year because of the invasion of Ukraine.
The highest-ranked players to be affected are the men's and women's world number two and four, respectively.
Both countries have allowed their players to compete on the tennis tour, but not under their national flags.
Wimbledon takes place in June and July.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club is expected to confirm the move later on Wednesday.
The two Russians who reached the fourth round last year were Sabalenka and Medvedev.
Russian world number 15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - who called for the war to stop earlier this year - and 18th-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will also miss out.
Russia's Andrey Rublev is eighth in the men's rankings, while Karen Khachanov is 26th.
They will be able to compete at the French Open.
The government was consulted about whether to allow players to compete.
Sports minister Nigel Huddleston previously said "nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed" to play at Wimbledon.
The head of the women's tennis Association told the British Broadcasting Corporation in March that he didn't think players from the two countries should be banned from tournaments.
Russia was banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup team titles after the country invaded Ukraine.
Russian players should be banned from competing, according to the captain of the Ukrainian team.
"It cannot just be a sanction against 90% of the Russian people and 10% not," Savchuk told the New York Times.
It has to be even and I think it is collective guilt.
The former world number 13 thanked Wimbledon for showing the world an example.
The people of Russia have to solve the problem of Russia being isolated in all possible ways according to him.
TheWTA and the men's association have suspended their combined event scheduled to take place in Moscow in October.
The International Tennis Federation has canceled its events in the country.
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