The Wimbledon 2022 tournament, which will be played between June 27 and July 10, will not be open to Russian or Belarusian tennis players, due to sanctions imposed on those countries after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that led to the war. , which began on February 24.

Although the presentation of the tournament is set for next week, the newspaper New York Times He has already confirmed the rumor circulating for several weeks and indicates that “Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be admitted.”

“Since the outbreak of the war, the organizers have demanded a definite position against Vladimir Putin, which has never been effective and now seems to have been confirmed,” the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport highlighted today.

Meanwhile, the decision by Wimbledon organizers was a blow to the ambitions of Russian Daniil Medvedev, number 2 in the world, not to achieve a third Grand Slam in addition to other previous tournaments, as he underwent surgery for a hernia.

Medvedev clearly declared himself against the war and his compatriot Andrey Rublev – who maintained the same position – said that “many criticize me just because I am Russian, but despite this I want to show that sports are united “.

The traditional Wimbledon tournament will begin on June 27, twenty days after the Roland Garros tournament, which -however- so far has no position against Russian and Belarusian athletes of the same sex that, on the ATP circuit and WTA, they are in playing without the flag of their country.

As in the cases of Medvedev and Rublev, the ban on competing involved Karen Khachanov, Aslan Karatsev among the men; and Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Daria Kasatkina among women.

With information from Telam