Russian, Belarusian players barred from Wimbledon

Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to compete at this year's Wimbledon due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Grand Slam's organisers All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said in a statement on Wednesday. Earlier this month, the AELTC said it was in talks with the British government on the participation of players from Russia and Belarus in the grasscourt Grand Slam.

Read AlsoWimbledon ban on Russian players would be 'unacceptable': Kremlin

The Kremlin said Wednesday that banning Russian tennis players from Wimbledon over Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine would be "unacceptable." "This is unacceptable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "Once again they simply turn athletes into hostages to political prejudice,

"We recognise that this is hard on the individuals affected, and it is with sadness that they will suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime," Ian Hewitt, chairman of the AELTC said in a statement.

Hewitt said the AELTC had "carefully considered" alternative measures that might be taken within the UK Government guidance. "But given the high profile environment of The Championships the importance of not allowing sport to be used to promote the Russian regime and our broader concerns for public and player (including family) safety, we do not believe it is viable to proceed on any other basis," he said. The organisers had earlier planned to announce a decision in mid-May before the entry deadline for the June 27-July 10 event. A ban on Russian players prevents world number two Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, ranked eighth, from competing in the men's draw. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is 15th in the women's rankings. Belarus is a key staging area for the invasion, which