Wimbledon ‘intends’ to accept Russian and Belarus players for 2023 edition

They decided to backtrack. The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which organizes Wimbledon and had refused the participation of Russian and Belarusian players in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, announced on Friday March 31 that it had “the intention” to accept them under “terms” this year (the tournament will take place from July 3 to 16).

“Our current intention is to accept participation from Russian and Belarusian players provided that they compete as ‘neutral’ athletes and fulfill the necessary conditions,” announces the AELTC, emphasizing in particular that it “they will be prohibited from expressing their support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine” and that players will not be allowed to participate “receiving financial aid” from Russia or Belarus to participate in the tournament.

Alignment with other Grand Slam tournaments

The organizers also highlight the argument of “the alignment between the Grand Slam tournaments”, Who “is increasingly important in today’s tennis environment”. “We continue to totally condemn Russia’s illegal invasion and our full support remains with the people of Ukraine, commented Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club. It was an incredibly difficult decision, which was not taken lightly.” Before specifying at the end of the press release: “If circumstances change materially between now and the start of the Championships, we will review and react accordingly.”

A decision welcomed by the WTA and the ATP, which govern the men’s and women’s circuits: “We are happy that all players will be able to participate in Wimbledon and the other LTA (British Tennis Federation) tournaments this summer,” they comment in a joint press release which salutes the work done by all the parties concerned to reach a solution “who protects equity” tennis. In 2022, the ATP and the WTA, following the exclusion of players from these two nations, had decided not to award points to players participating in the tournament.