Wimbledon set to ban Russian players from competing at the tournament's 2022 edition this summer

Wimbledon is set to ban Russian players from their 2022 edition this summer, according to reports. The All England Club's decision — in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine — would be the first time Russian players have been expressly prohibited from competing in an elite tennis event, with ATP, WTA and ITF tournaments thus far allowing Russians — and Belarussians — to take part, albeit in a neutral capacity without displaying their national flag or having their national anthem played.

Ad/> The ITF has however banned Russia and Belarus from the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup, events where players compete for their country. TennisExclusive: Zverev 'should not be on court today' – Henin hits out at 'unacceptable' ATP incidents15/04/2022 AT 11:18 Notable absentees from the third Grand Slam of the year if the ruling stands would be Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev on the men's side, with the likes of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Daria Kasatkina likely to miss out on the women's event.

In total there are four Russian men ranked in the ATP top 100, with eight Russian women in the WTA equivalent. The news was revealed by Sportico, with the New York Times stating that players from Belarus — an ally of Russia during the war — are also due to be banned from competing in SW19.

'We want to do our job' — Russia's Rublev says sport should be outside of politics «I want peace» — Medvedev on Russia questions ahead of Indian Wells On Sunday, LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd had spoken to reporters in Prague, where Great Britain were playing the Czech Republic in the Billie Jean King Cup, and intimated then that decisions were close. Lloyd said: «It is an enormously complex situation.