Daniil Medvedev Picture Credit: Twitter
Sports Authorities across the globe have taken Russia's invasion of Ukraine very seriously and have also taken some strict actions. Players from the country in almost every sport have been banned or have been asked to play under a neutral flag. The World Tennis Association also took the bold step to ban the country from all competitions. Although they allowed individuals to compete with no team name and flag.
But Wimbledon looks in no mood to allow anything like that. The grand slam is planning on banning Russian players completely including World No.2 Daniil Medvedev. According to a report in Mirror UK, the Wimbledon officials are all set to hand a ban to Medvedev over the fear that his victory can boost Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime.
Although the other three grand slams have allowed Russian players to compete under certain conditions, the All England Club is mulling to implement a ban on Russian players that failed to condemn the actions of Putin without faring to face legal repercussions.
"The All England Club have been advised that their independent tournament status means they could implement a ban on Russian players that fail to condemn the actions of Putin - and not face legal repercussions," said the report.
AELTC spokesperson explains why Wimbledon can face no legal repercussions
In the same report, Mirror UK quoted an AELTC spokesperson explaining the stance of three tennis bodies and why Wimbledon can easily do what they want without fearing any legal repercussions.
“Private member clubs have more freedom as to who to allow in or not, so they wouldn’t be subject to the same discrimination laws as the tours,” the spokesman said. “If you are running the main tennis tour, you have the freedom to ban players – if they have been found guilty of match-fixing or doping, for instance – but you have to be able to show that this course of action is reasonable.
“In this instance, if the tours took strong action, Russian players could argue that they are being prevented from making a living through no fault of their own. That is not so much of an issue for Wimbledon, however.”