The 2022 Wimbledon was a disaster and it could get a whole lot worse in 2023 if tournament organizers don’t reverse their ban on Russian and Belarusian players. As many people may recall, the All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association, the two governing bodies of British tennis, issued a ban on all players from Belarus and Russia in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year. This meant that players from those two countries were not allowed to compete in any of the grass court tennis tournaments in the United Kingdom, which included tennis’ third major, Wimbledon, held in London, England. This decision led to a series of unintended consequences that included hefty fines, loss of rankings points, and a dark cloud over the eventual womens champion Elena Rybakina due to her questionable heritage. The latter point will be expanded upon. While what happened last year could simply be viewed as petty politics between the ATP, WTA, and the All England Club and Lawn Tennis Association, the ramifications for a continued ban in 2023 will be far worse, as both the WTA and ATP have threatened to expel British tennis tournaments from the calendar. If enacted, This would mean that there would be no tournaments held inside the United Kingdom in 2023 and it could lead to the cancellation of Wimbledon. This begs the question of how far are Wimbledon and the rest of the British tennis tournaments willing to go to uphold their ban.
To understand how we got here, we have to go back to February, 2022. That was when Russia decided to launch an unjust attack on Ukraine. This decision sparked outrage worldwide and it managed to creep its way into the sports world. The reaction in the sports world was mixed. Almost every sport decided to punish Russia and their ally Belarus by banning teams from those two countries or withdrawing events. It was an easy decision to ban national teams, but for sports where athletes compete individually instead of in teams, like tennis, it was much more complicated. The general consensus was that they would continue to let the athletes compete, but ban the use of each country’s flags from competitions. So, players from Russia and Belarus were basically competing as neutral athletes. However, tennis organizers in the United Kingdom took a harsher approach by issuing a total ban on all Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the country. This, of course, included Wimbledon, the marquee British tennis tournament held in London. This proved to be an unpopular and highly divisive move. It eventually resulted in fines by the ATP and WTA upwards of $1 million (approximately 820 thousand pounds) and the loss of rankings points for Wimbledon, essentially turning it into a high profile exhibition tournament with the prize money still being awarded. The complications did not stop there.
In addition to the outside drama between the WTA, ATP, and the All England Club and Lawn Tennis Association, there were two major headlines that caused frustration and controversy. The eventual mens champion Novak Djokovic lost out on his chance to be at the top of the world rankings as a result of no rankings points being awarded. Eventual womens champion Elena Rybakina also missed out on rankings points, which eventually caused her to lose out on the year-end WTA Tour Finals in Fort-Worth, Texas. Separately, Rybakina faced backlash for being allowed to compete despite being born in Russia. Rybakina has a Kazakhstan passport and has represented that country since 2018. The Kazakhstan government helped sponsor her career. Rybakina has repeatedly tried to distance herself from her Russian ties, but it hasn’t worked. At least not in the eyes of the media. Most of the fans seem indifferent to it all. Regardless, the confusion over Rybakina’s eligibility for Wimbledon, and the negative press coverage that followed her triumph, was a product of Wimbledon’s ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. Had that ban not been in place, this would be a nonissue.
The controversy from the 2022 Wimbledon has carried over to 2023. The core arguments still exist. The WTA and ATP still maintain their support for Russian and Belarusian players and their argument that a player ban violates the strict anti-discrimination and fair play clauses laid out in the competition bylaws. Meanwhile, the Lawn Tennis Association and the All England Club maintain their position of banning players in what they described as extreme and unprecedented circumstances. Their stated goal is not to discriminate but they have no choice. They’re worried about the potential PR that could arise if a player from one of those two countries wins the tournament. Tournament organizers have stated they are hoping that the WTA and ATP will come to their senses and have accused both organizations of being too soft in their response to the humanitarian crisis that has arisen due to Russia’s unjust war against Ukraine. Neither side has budged and we could be heading towards a catastrophe in 2023 if both sides don’t get along.
As the standoff between the Lawn Tennis Association, the All England Club, and the WTA and ATP trickles over to 2023, one thing has become abundantly clear. The future of grass court events in the United Kingdom, including Wimbledon, are at the mercy of the WTA and ATP. Getting fined and losing rankings points might not be the worst punishment this go-around as the WTA and ATP have threatened to withdraw all of the grass court events held in the United Kingdom and expel Wimbledon if the ban isn’t lifted. It’s unclear what expulsion might look like, but the All England Club and Wimbledon organizers might be less inclined to mess around and find out. If the Lawn Tennis Association, and the All England Club do indeed lift their bans on Russian and Belarusian players and allow them to compete in Wimbledon, as well as all other grass court events in the United Kingdom, it will have been decided under duress and not necessarily a change of heart. We will find out in due time exactly how far tournament organizers will go and at what cost in continuing to enforce a player ban on Russia and Belarus.
Wimbledon starts on July 3.
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