World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev is among a host of tennis stars set to be banned from Wimbledon due to the war in Ukraine involving Russia.
All players from Russia and Belarus, a Moscow ally which has supported the war, will be excluded from the June Grand Slam, the All England Club announced Wednesday, confirming an earlier report by The New York Times.
“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,” the tournament said in a release.
“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.
“It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022.”
Medvedev, who briefly took the No. 1 mantle from Novak Djokovic earlier this year, and former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka headline the players set to be barred, but several other Russian and Belarusian players in the top 50 will likely also be affected.
World No. 8 Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov (No. 25) and Aslan Karatsev (No. 33) would be the other Russians booted out of the men’s draw, with Belarusian world No. 44 Ilya Ivashka also to be left out.
In the women’s draw, Azarenka would be joined on the outer by Belarusian compatriots Aryna Sabalenka (No. 6) and Aliaksandra Sasnovich (No. 49), while five Russian women Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (No. 15), Daria Kasatkina (No. 23), Veronika Kudermetova (No. 28), Ludmilla Samsonova (No. 31) and Ekaterina Alexandrova (No. 44) would also be excluded.
Since the war began in February, individual Russian and Belarusian players hadn’t been banned from any events on the ATP or WTA tour, but were allowed to compete if their national flag wasn’t on display in tournament graphics.
However, Russian and Belarusian players had been banned from competing in team events, including the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, with Russia the most recent winner of both events.
Currently, players from both nations are allowed to enter next month’s French Open.
Last month, Medvedev spoke of how he hoped tennis didn’t follow the lead of other sports, such as international football, of banning Russians from the game.
“We never know (if Russians will be banned) – some sports made this decision, especially I would think the team sports,” he told BBC Sport. “Tennis is probably one of the most individual sports we have in the world. Everyone’s living in so many different places.
“There’s always a possibility, but I hope not.”
Wimbledon is set to commence on Monday, June 27 with the tournament concluding on Sunday, July 10.
The tournament said it will consider reversing the ban “if circumstances change materially between now and June.”