Wimbledon has become the first tennis tournament to ban Russian and Belarusian players in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a move immediately criticized by the world governing body for men's professional tennis as unfair.
The ban means Russian Daniil Medvedev, currently ranked second in the world, and Andrey Rublev, ranked eighth, are barred from participating in the grand slam tournament. In the women's draw, two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka, ranked 18th in the world, and Aryna Sabalenka, ranked fourth, are barred from playing. Both are from Belarus, which has aided Russia in its attack on Ukraine.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which runs Wimbledon, announced the decision on April 20, confirming earlier media reports.
"In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players," an AELTC statement said. "It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to Wimbledon."
The ban also applies to other British grass court tournaments that are scheduled to be held prior to Wimbledon.
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the world governing body for men's tennis, called the ban discriminatory and said it set a bad precedent.
"We believe that today's unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the [AELTC] to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year's British grass court swing is unfair and has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game," an ATP statement said.
"Discrimination based on nationality also constitutes a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon that states that player entry is based solely on ATP Rankings," the organization said.
Belarus's Victoria Azarenka in action at Wimbledon in 2018.
Ian Hewitt, chairman of the AELTC, said in the statement that the tournament recognizes that the ban will be hard on the players affected.
"It is with sadness that they will suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime," he said in the AELTC statement.
But he said given the tournament's high profile, the importance of not allowing sport to be used to promote the Russian regime, and concerns for public and player safety, "we do not believe it is viable to proceed on any other basis at The Championships.”
The statement said that if circumstances change materially between now and June, the AELTC "will consider and respond accordingly."
Earlier on April 20, The Times newspaper and the sports industry website Sportico quoted sources as saying the AELTC was in talks with the British government on the participation of players from the two countries.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on June 27 and conclude with the men's singles final on July 10.
Russian and Belarusian players have been allowed to continue to compete in ATP and WTA events under a neutral flag since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Russia and Belarus had already been barred from competing in the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup team events.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the move unacceptable.
"Taking into account that Russia is a very strong tennis country," he said, "our athletes are at the top of world rankings, the competition itself will suffer from their removal."
Ukrainian players Elina Svitolina, Marta Kostyuk, and Serhiy Stakhovsky demanded in a joint statement that Russian and Belarusian athletes be banned from competing in any international event.
"In times of crisis, silence means agreeing with what is happening. We noticed that some Russian and Belarusian players at some point vaguely mentioned the war, but never clearly stating that Russia and Belarus started it on the territory of Ukraine," the players said. "The very silence of those who choose to remain that way right now is unbearable as it leads to the continuation of murder in our homeland."
Russian and Belarusian players are still able to compete at the French Open, which starts in May. The United States Tennis Association said it has not yet made a decision regarding the participation of Russian and Belarusian players at this year's U.S. Open, which begins on August 29.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to multiple decisions across international sport to exclude Russian teams or cancel events scheduled to take place in Russia. One of the most significant was a ban imposed by FIFA, world football's governing body, barring it from international football events, including those associated with this year's World Cup.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport last month rejected Russia's appeal of FIFA's ban.