Wimbledon was criticised last year for banning Russian and Belarusian players. Meanwhile, for 2023, while it has revoked the ban, it has gone a step forward to play for the housing of the Ukrainian players, besides funding relief efforts.
The Wimbledon Grand Slam faced the flak of tennis supporters, including the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and Women's Tennis Association (WTA), for banning Russian and Belarusian players from the competition last year following Russia's unprovoked attack on its neighbouring country of Ukraine, as the war still rages on.
Ahead of the 2023 edition of Wimbledon, the All England Club has revoked its ban, as the Russian and Belarusian players will be competing under the neutral banner, as has been the case with ATP and WTA since last year. However, that's not all, as Wimbledon has gone a step further to pay for the housing of the Ukrainian players and fund their relief support during the tournament.
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According to AP, the All England Club would pay £1 for each ticket sold at Wimbledon to the Ukrainian relief fund, which could go up to £500,000. Club chairman Ian Hewitt also said the competition would not be aired in Russia and Belarus. At the same time, media personnel from the countries will not be allowed to enter the event, besides stating that flags of the two countries will be barred from the tournament.
With the ban being overturned, the likes of Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus), Daniil Medvedev (Russia), Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), Karen Khachanov (Russia) and Andrey Rublev (Russia) will now be allowed to compete. The competition is set to run between July 3-16, and unlike last year, the ATP and WTA Rankings system will be in place this time.
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