There has been no shortage of drama and controversy in the tennis world in the last few months with issues such as the mysterious disappearance of Chinese player Peng Shuai, and Novak Djokovic’s vaccination status and his eventual deportation from Australia over the vaccine mandate dominating the headlines. Now, Wimbledon organizers have thrown themselves into the crossfires when they announced their intention to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the tournament as a result of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. This has been the harshest action taken by anyone in tennis, while other sports have already taken steps to ban Russian and Belarusian sports teams.
The decision to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes, understandably so, has been sharply criticized by many voices in tennis. The ATP and WTA announced their intention to fight Wimbledon and deal “serious” consequences and sanctions. There have also been high profile names such as Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev, and now Victoria Azarenka express their opposition. Responses include statements made by the ATP and WTA accusing Wimbledon of discrimination, while others have expressed the desire to separate the people from the government claiming Russian and Belarusian citizens are against the war. Others, however, are not as convinced that the WTA, ATP, and their players are approaching this from the right angle. Regardless, there are some questions that need to be answered.
The first question we must ask ourselves is how did we get here? This one’s simple. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in mid-February, sports federations began cutting Russia and Belarus out of their competitions. Though most of that involved team competitions. UEFA and FIFA both banned Russian and Belarusian national teams from competing in global soccer events. The International Ice Hockey Federation followed suit with the same sanctions. One-by-one, various other sports federations joined in. In tennis, the WTA and ATP agreed to ban the Russian and Belarusian teams from competing in the Fed Cup and Davis Cup, but unlike the rest of the world, the WTA and ATP allowed athletes to compete as individuals with the rankings listing players as neutral. The WTA and ATP wanted to send a message that we should separate the people from the government.
The next question is why did Wimbledon make this decision and how did they come to this decision? Well, according to the All England Lawn Tennis Club, event organizers were concerned about player and fan safety in regards to allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete and the type of fans that those players will draw. The organizers also said they felt that should an athlete from Russia or Belarus win Wimbledon, it would be good PR for Putin or Lukashenko. Wimbledon wasn’t acting alone as it was later revealed that the All England Club was following a directive from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and the Tories, which is the conseravtive wing of the British Parliament. Critics of the ban argue that the leaders of Russia and Belarus don’t care about tennis players, so it is an unnecessary move. Again, it goes back to the concept of separating the people from the government.
What are the players saying? Well, the responses have varied. The Ukrainian players are supportive of the decision. In terms of players affected by the ban, Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev, who has won 11 singles titles in his career and is currently ranked number 8 in the world, called the decision illogical and discriminatory. Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champ and former world number 1, simply said it doesn’t make sense and she delivered a statement of affirmation to always be against war.
Are there other influential voices we should know about? Yes. Serbian tennis player and current world number 1 Novak Djokovic responded with sympathy for the Russian and Balaursian athletes as he told reporters that he understands the frustration of these players because he too was a victim of war. He also said that when sports and politics mix, it doesn’t end well. Djokovic, who grew up in Yugoslavia in the 90s where there were several different proxy wars in various parts of the country, knows exactly what war is like, which makes him a powerful person to listen to as this messy situation continues to unfold.
Now that we’ve heard from people on both sides, what comes next? This is an easy one. Unless either Wimbledon or the WTA and ATP cave, we should expect Wimbledon to suffer a huge blow.
What does that blow look like? The strongest course of action that the WTA and ATP are considering is stripping Wimbledon of its rankings points. This would make Wimbledon essentially an exhibition tournament. Whether individual players choose to boycott Wimbledon is anyone’s guess. There could also be players who lawyer up and challenge Wimbledon in a lawsuit, but that would be quite the battle and most likely unwinnable. Victoria Azarenka said that this is an option she is considering.
There are a lot of moving pieces so we can expect this to drag out over the course of the next two months leading up to Wimbledon. Unless meaningful change occurs, Wimbledon may soon come to regret their decision.
