Russia's aggression in the war on Ukraine didn't stop despite the ban from the World Cup. The consequences of the barbaric actions of the Russian army have been felt by Russians who speak out against Putin. On Wednesday, the All England Lawn Tennis Club banned all Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at this year's Wimbledon event, causing more athletic damage.
The world men's No. 2 and 8 are not allowed to participate in the Grand Slam event. Rublev is the Russian who used a marker to write "no war please" on a camera a week after the war in Ukraine started. The war was denounced on CNN. The country is being used as a key staging area for the Russian invasion, so the players are barred from the event.
A statement from the All England Club.
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. It would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players in the championship.
This is the first time since World War II that an entire country has banned its players from Wimbledon. The first move from a tennis tournament was the expulsion of Russian and Belarusian players. The International Tennis Federation decided in March that players from Russia and Belrusian countries would not be allowed to compete in professional tournaments under the Russian or Belrusian flags. The official teams from Russia and Belarus were banned from the Davis Cup.
The French Open will be the next Grand Slam tournament in which neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete. The first major since the war began is the Parisian clay-court event. The Australian Open ended three weeks before the invasion began. The U.S. Tennis Association has yet to make a decision on whether to ban players from Russia and Belarus.
The All England Club said that if circumstances change between now and June, they will consider and respond.
Elina Svitolina is the highest-ranked Ukrainian tennis player male or female. Three other Ukrainian women are within range to qualify for the event in No. 36 Anhelina Kalinina, No. 52 Marta Kostyuk and No. 92 Dayana Yastremska. Three other Ukrainian women are in contention. Vitaliy Sachko is the highest-ranked Ukrainian male. The governing bodies of tennis should publicly state their stance on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to statements posted on social media by Svitolina and Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Those who make a living by playing tennis have been hit hard by the ban. With a deep run at Wimbledon, the bottom lines of the two women would see a huge difference. The organizers of the event had to know that a hard stance against Russian players wouldn't stop the war or stop Putin. Tennis is not unified, which could have a domino effect until the invasion ends. Don't expect the All England Club to reverse course.
The people supporting the war are obviously idiocy. Being against the invasion but allowing harmless tennis players the chance to compete should they publicly condemn the war should be a path for these players. The top two players in the world are not going to compete at Wimbledon. Tennis doesn't need the spectacle and star power for its signature event with Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal slated to compete. Wimbledon should allow those from Russia and Belarus to speak out against their country's aggression against Ukraine and allow them to play. An individual ban should not be affected by a refusal to condemn the war.
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