From tennis whites to army fatigues: Wimbledon braces for Ukraine and Russian cold front

In 2013, Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky pulled off one of the greatest Wimbledon shocks when he demolished Roger Federer on Centre Court.

Ten years on, Stakhovsky has exchanged his tennis whites for army fatigues as he fights with the Ukraine military against the Russian invaders.

The sporting fallout from the conflict will likely be reflected in the tranquil surroundings of the All England Club in leafy south-west London when Wimbledon gets underway on Monday.

Twelve months ago, players from Russia and close ally Belarus were banned from Wimbledon, the only one of the four Grand Slam events to adopt such a hard-line response to the war.

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They have been allowed to return this year although there is uncertainty as to how they will be greeted on court.

"We cannot control it," admitted Russia's world number three Daniil Medvedev, a former US Open champion.

"If people are going to decide to be harsh, it is what it is. If they're going to be kind, it's great also. So it's not for us to decide."

The bitter relations between Ukraine players on one side and Russian and Belarusian rivals on the other created a tournament-long sub-plot at the recent French Open.

Ukraine stars such as Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk were booed by the Paris crowd for refusing to shake hands with Belarusian world number two Aryna Sabalenka.

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Kostyuk said the French crowd should be "embarrassed" by their jeers.

Svitolina defiantly vowed she would not "sell her country for likes" by shaking the hand of her Belarusian opponent.

Svitolina accused Sabalenka of deliberately inflaming tensions by making