Wimbledon consider Russian ban in 2023 as tennis chiefs prepare for legal showdown

Carol Vorderman cried watching Sue Barker's final Wimbledon

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Wimbledon are reportedly considering banning Russian and Belarusian players from next year’s tournament, despite the furore that followed their decision to do the same thing this year. The All England Club were handed a fine by the WTA for their decision to refuse certain players entry, with the Lawn Tennis Association now preparing for a legal showdown after they were also fined for banning players from warm-up tournaments in Nottingham and Eastbourne.

Wimbledon announced their ban at the end of April after Russia had shattered peace in Europe by invading Ukraine, with Belarusian players facing the tournament sanction due to their county’s role in the attack. And Wimbledon organisers were fined £207,000 as the ban violated a WTA regulation which says that tournaments must be “open to all categories of women tennis players without discrimination.”

According to the i newspaper, no discussions have taken place regarding a ban at next year’s Championships. But the publication understands that senior officials currently believe that, unless the policy of the governmental changes, the ban is likely to remain in place.

The All England Club apparently based their decision on government guidelines which urged sporting bodies to ban “individual athletes…representing bodies, cities or brands that are effectively representing Russia or Belarus.”

Given the status of Wimbledon throughout the world, the All England Club may feel they got off lightly with their fine after the LTA were fined a whopping £620k for their bans at the smaller tournaments they oversee.

The LTA are now planning to appeal the fine and are understood to have taken legal advice on the matter. The British tennis governing body have even explored the possibility of taking their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, although experts claim they would have little chance of turning the decision around unless mistakes were made during the WTA’s process of handing out the fine.

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This year’s Wimbledon tournament captured the imagination of the British public once again as Novak Djokovic got his hands on the men’s trophy for the fourth time in a row. The Serbian overcame a one-set deficit in the final to defeat big-serving Australian Nick Kyrgios and move to within one Grand Slam title of 22-time major winner Rafael Nadal.

The women’s tournament was won by Russian-born Kazakhstani Elena Rybakina, who also came from a set behind to taste glory on Centre Court at SW19, as she ultimately got the better of Tunisian ace Ons Jabeur.

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