After numerous criticisms received for the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes from playing in the 2022 edition, Wimbledon reversed its decision and in the next edition, which will take place between the 3 and 16 of July, tennis players from those countries will be able to participate in the Grand Slam as “neutrals”.
Although last year other tournaments chose to allow them to participate, Wimbledon was the only tournament to decide on a ban. This brought serious consequences. The ATP penalized the tournament by excluding it from the distribution of points for the world ranking.
Last May, when the news of the sanction broke, Ian Hewitt, president of the All England Club, stated that the United Kingdom Government had left them “no other viable alternative” than to prohibit Russian and Belarusian players from participating. The WTA and the ITF ended up joining the ATP decision.
In the statement that was shared through social media, some conditions that will apply during the tournament were announced. Expressions of support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in various ways will be prohibited, in addition to the participation of players who receive funding from Russian or Belarusian states.
“The conditions have been carefully developed through constructive dialogue with the United Kingdom Government, the LTA and international bodies interested in tennis, and are in line with the guidelines published by the Government for United Kingdom sports bodies,” the statement continues.
Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, was one of those who criticized the Wimbledon ban, which, according to him, was a form of political interference after the United Kingdom Government recommended the measure.
Last week, the IOC recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to compete again if they do not openly support the war or are not affiliated with the military.
After a difficult 2022, Wimbledon will seek to regain its status, including all the athletes who can participate, but without neglecting its claim. “We continue to strongly condemn Russia’s illegal invasion and unreservedly support the people of Ukraine,” said its president, Ian Hewitt.
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
