Daniil Medvedev faces Wimbledon ban unless he denounces Vladimir Putin

Daniil Medvedev faces the prospect of being banned from Wimbledon, unless gives ‘assurances’ that he does not support Russian president Vladimir Putin.

As a consequence of the war Russia continues to wage on Ukraine, the world No.1 has been competing as a neutral athlete at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

The tennis authorities have so far stopped short of banning players from competing as individuals, Russia has been banned from team competitions, including the Davis Cup.

UK sports minister Nigel Huddleston, meanwhile, said on Tuesdaythe government is in talks with the All-England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) regarding their stance ahead of Wimbledon which is due to start in late June.

‘Nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed (to play in a Grand Slam,) said Huddlestone old the Department for Culture, Media and Sport committee. ‘We are talking to various sports about this and what the response should be there.

‘Absolutely, nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed or enabled. But I think it needs to go beyond that, I think we need to have some assurance that they are not supporters of Vladimir Putin and we are considering what requirements we may need to get assurances along those lines.

‘In short, would I be comfortable with a Russian athlete flying the flag of Russia? No. We are looking at this issue of what we do with individuals and we are thinking about the implications of it, because I don’t think people would accept individuals very clearly flying the Russian flag, in particular if there is any support for Putin and his regime.’

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