Wimbledon officials on Wednesday said they would bar Russian and Belarusian players from entering this year’s tournament because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’s support of the war.
Wimbledon became the first Grand Slam tennis event to restrict individual Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing. In a statement, Wimbledon officials confirmed that other tennis tournaments to be held this year in the United Kingdom planned to take the same approach.
“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 statement read.