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Ahead of the first grasscourt Grand Slam of the year 2023, the All England Club made a major announcement on Tuesday, April 25. In a big update, all Russian and Belarusian players will now have to sign a declaration in order to compete in the third Grand Slam of the year, which is the Wimbledon 2023.
This comes after the tournament announced the decision to lift ban last month which prevented players from the two countries, Russia and Belarus to play under their country flag after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The All England Club also asserted that several players have already signed personal declaration in order to compete in the tournament and are cleared to play as neutrals.
Speaking at the pre-tournament conference, All England Club Chairman Ian Hewitt added that lifting the ban was the hardest decision in his tenure. “This was an incredibly difficult decision. I think our statement on March 31 set out the position as clearly as we could, namely that there were a combination of factors and it was a combination of factors and developments since last year which led to our decision.”
The Wimbledon 2023 will be played from 3-16 July at the AELTC, London. Talking about the 2022 edition, while Novak Djokovic won the men’s singles title, Elena Rybakina lifted the women’s singles title in the last edition.
