By the end of March, rumors began to spread that the participation in Wimbledon of Daniil Medvedev, then the leader of the rankings and currently located in the second stage, was in jeopardy. It was Great Britain that announced it was going requires Russian and Belarusian athletes to prove in writing that they are truly neutral to compete in sporting events in that country. However, the organizers of the English Grand Slam, the oldest and most traditional tournament on the circuit, seem to disagree with that requirement and negotiate with the British Government to avoid vetoing tennis players of those two nationalities.

“We have noticed the UK government’s guidance regarding the attendance of Russian and Belarusian people with neutral status at sporting events in our country.”comment of All England Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), venue of the contest.

“It remains a complex and challenging issue, and we continue to engage in discussions with the UK government, the LTA (the British Tennis Association) and international tennis governing bodies. We plan to announce a decision in relation to Wimbledon before our due date. “registration deadline, mid -May”He added.

A few days ago, Nigel Huddlestonthe UK Sports Minister, reported that a regulation would take effect under which Russian and Belarusian athletes must prove that they are “truly independent and neutral”, a written statement condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and denying any support from the Vladimir Putin regime.

“Really no one flying the Russian flag should be allowed or permitted. We need some potential guarantee that they are not supporters of Vladimir Putin. What we are looking at and talking about in various sports in terms of what should be the answer and what are the requirements. “he added when referring to Medvedev’s particular case.

The three governing bodies of world tennis – the ATP, the WTA and the ITF– they took the joint decision to allow players from Russia and Belarus to continue competing on their circuits, but not under the flags of their countries. Although the participation of teams from those countries in the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup is prohibited.

Wimbledon, as an independent tournament, organized by the club and the Great Britain tennis federation, you can impose your own requirements, if required by the government of that country. Although the AELTC does not seem to agree with the position brought by Huddleston and they hope so to dispute the contest on the conditions now enforced in the rest of the professional circuit.

Medvedev, current US Open champion and ranking escort of Novak Djokovic, announced after losing in the Miami quarterfinals that he will leave the circuit between one and two months, after undergoing hernia surgery. There is doubt for Roland Garros, which starts on May 22; He will recover to play the third “big” of the season, which starts in London on June 27, where he must defend 180 points from last year’s round of 16.

The 26-year-old Muscovite is the main representative of the group of players from the two sanctioned countries. His countrymen also appear in the top 100 of the ATP Andrew Rubleveighth in the ranking, Karen Khachanov24 °, aslan karatsev31st, and the Belarusian Ilya Ivashka.

Meanwhile, in the women’s circuit, the Russians appear in the first 100 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (14th and finalist at Roland Garros in 2021), Veronika Kudermetova (22nd), Daria Kasatkina (28th), Lyudmila Samsonova (31st), Ekaterina Alexandrova (54th), Varvara Gracheva (74th) and Anna Kalinskaya (76th) and the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenkanumber five in the world and semi-finalist at AELTC last year, Victoria Azarenka (17th) and Aliaksandra Sasnovich (51st).

Everyone – except Azarenka, who is still out of Wimbledon after announcing he will take a break from tennis due to extreme stress – could be forced to “sign” their neutrality if the British government has a way and Wimbledon can’t withdraw the proposal. . .