Wimbledon 2022 is right here! The All England Club has banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing in Wimbledon this year. The decision came in light of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Belarusian players will also suffer because of Belarus’ support of Russia in the war. Wimbledon’s decision was in accordance with the government guidelines issued post the Russia-Ukraine war. Many top Russian and Belarusian players will miss their chance at winning the prestigious grand slam.
Big names like Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev will miss the oldest grand slam due to the ban. After the announcement of the ban, many top players like Djokovic and Nadal came out in support of Russian and Belarusian players.
Djokovic criticized the decision but also called it a ‘sensitive subject’ that could create a ‘lot of conflict’. Nadal also had a similar opinion and felt sorry for the players banned from participating this year.
Who will miss Wimbledon 2022 due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players
Many players will miss the chance to make it big at Wimbledon due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players. World number 1 Daniil Medvedev will be the biggest name missing from the men’s draw. Other players include world number 8 Andrey Rublev, number 26 Karen Khachanov, and number 34 Aslan Karatsev.
In the women’s category, world number 5 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will be the highest seed to miss the tournament. World number 15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and No 17 Victoria Azarenka, Darya Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova, Ludmilla Samsonova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Aliaksandra Sanovich will also be missing from the list.
Daniil Medvedev has broken his silence on Wimbledon’s ban on Russian players. 🗣️#9WWOS #Tennis #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/eZv0v9vayL
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) May 17, 2022
The ban imposed by Wimbledon will not affect the ranking of the players due to the decision taken by ATP and WTA. After Wimbledon’s decision to ban players, ATP and WTA stripped Wimbledon of its ranking points.
It essentially means that the tournament has now been reduced to an exhibition event. Therefore, the ranking will remain the same irrespective of who wins or loses the tournament. However, ATP and WTA have decided to maintain points for the British warm-up tournaments leading up to the Wimbledon.