Russian players in Wimbledon: All England club hold talks with UK government

Bengaluru, March 16: The Wimbledon organisers are having talks with the British government about whether Russian tennis players such as No 1-ranked Daniil Medvedev should be allowed to compete at the tournament this year if they do not distance themselves from President Vladimir Putin because of his country's invasion of Ukraine.

"Absolutely nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed. Many of us would be willing and able to (allow them to) compete as non-aligned, non-flag-bearing entities. But I think it needs to go beyond that. We need some potential assurances that they are not supporters of Vladimir Putin and we are considering what requirements we may need to try and get some assurances along those lines," British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston told legislators in London about Wimbledon,

Asked by a member of parliament about any back-and-forth with the All England Club, which runs the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, Huddleston replied, "We're in discussions."

The All England Club confirmed that discussions were ongoing with both UK government and tennis governing bodies.

The seven groups that run the sport around the world have condemned the war; canceled events in Russia and Belarus, which helped with the invasion; kicked those two nations out of the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup team competitions; and announced on March 1 that players from those countries will be allowed to compete in WTA, ATP and Grand Slam tournaments but not under the name or flag of Russia or Belarus.

Russia is the reigning champion in both the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup, but the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that the country would be replaced in the 2022 Finals of each by the highest-ranked losing semifinalist in 2021. For the Billie Jean King Cup, that is Australia; for the Davis Cup, it's Serbia.

Wimbledon's deadline for player entries is May 16.

The tournament is scheduled to begin main-draw play on June 27.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, which happened to be the day Medvedev was assured of moving atop the ATP rankings for the first time while competing at the Mexico Open.

"Watching the news from home, waking up here in Mexico, was not easy," Medvedev said then.

"By being a tennis player, I want to promote peace all over the world. We play in so many different countries; I've been in so many countries as a junior and as a pro. It's just not easy to hear all this news. ... I'm all for peace.

WTA chief Simon: Russia and Belarus tennis stars should not be banned over crisis

Meanwhile, WTA chairman Steve Simon said Russian tennis players must not be penalised for their country's "authoritarian leadership" amid concerns they could be frozen out of top tournaments.

The ATP and WTA tours decided Russian and Belarusian players should not be allowed to represent those nations while the crisis in Ukraine continues, with stars such as Medvedev currently playing under a neutral flag.

Simon insisted Russian and Belarusian tennis players should be able to continue featuring on the tour, despite a number of other sports banning such athletes.

"I can tell you that we have never banned athletes from participating on our tour as the result of political positions their leadership may take," Simon was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

"So it would take something very, very significant for that to change, but again we don't know where this is going," he added.

(With inputs from Agencies)