The All England Club chairman Ian Hewitt said Wimbledon was pretty much left without a choice but to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the tournament. Last Wednesday, Wimbledon announced Russian and Belarusian players won’t be allowed to compete at The Championships this year.
Hewitt confirmed the UK government pushed for the ban but also made it clear they left Wimbledon a choice in case they wanted to allow Russian players to compete. Wimbledon could have asked Russian players to sign some kind of anti-Vladimir Putin forms, require them to publicly denounce Putin and the Russian regime, but they decided against going that route as they felt that could potentially put Russian players and their families in danger.
Wimbledon thought “the most responsible decision possible” and added they were “left without a viable alternative.
Hewitt on the Wimbledon decision
“The British government has established guidelines for sporting organizations and events in the UK with the specific aim of limiting Russia’s influence,” Hewitt said.
“We have thought extensively about the possibilities. These are basically two options: deny participation or allow participation, but only with specific statements (against the invasion of Ukraine) from individual players.
‘We considered a wide variety of factors. After lengthy and careful consideration, we came to two firm conclusions. ‘First, even if we were to accept entries (from Russian and Belarusian players) with written declarations, we would risk their success or participation being used to benefit the propaganda machine of the Russian regime, which we could not accept.
‘Second, we have a duty to ensure no actions should put players or their families at risk. We understand and deeply regret the impact this will have on all the people affected. ‘We believe we have made the most responsible decision possible.
We believe (given Government guidance) there is no viable alternative in this truly exceptional and tragic situation.”
