Russian athletes to be banned from Wimbledon in huge blow for Daniil Medvedev

Russian players are set to be banned from the Wimbledon Championship this June in a move that will affect World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, according to reports. The All England Tennis Club had been in discussions with the government this week about barring Russian athletes from the tournament and the move is apparently set to be given the green light.

The All England Club would become the first governing body to ban Russian athletes in response to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. It would leave Medvedev and World No. 8 Andrey Rublev unable to compete.

In March, Rublev wrote "No To War" on a television camera lense. Exceptions could be made to athletes who openly condemn Putin's aggression, with sport minister Nigel Huddleston saying in the same month that sporting governing bodies must seek assurances that only 'neutral athletes' from Russia and Belarus could play in their respective competitions.

From the women's side Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ranked No. 15), Daria Kasatkina (No. 26) and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 29) would be among those affected by the ruling. It is unclear whether stars from Belarus - a country that has sided with Russia - will be allowed to enter the draw.

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The All England Club had been in discussions with the Lawn Tennis Association and the government this week about banning Russian players. That has now become policy, according to Sportico (via Reuters).

"We are in very close dialogue with the All England Club, the government, with the tours," LTA chief executive Steve Lloyd said this month. "We are very conscious of public sentiment in this area. We are trying to navigate what that needs to look like in the summer