Wimbledon POLL – Is lifting ban on Russian and Belarusians correct?

Russian and Belarusian players will be back in the draw at Wimbledon 2023 after the Lawn Tennis Association confirmed last year’s ban is no longer in place. Although both countries are still leading the invasion of Ukraine, financial and logistic pressures appear to have forced the body’s hand in allowing their athletes to compete under ‘neutral’ flags.

But have the authorities made the right choice by allowing Russia and Belarus to be represented on one of the biggest stages in tennis once again? You can vote in our poll below.

The decision to overturn the ban was made after the ATP and WTA stripped the grass-court major of its ranking points in response to last year’s suspension. After facing fines for its actions in 2022, the LTA said the threat of further sanctions and having its licence revoked if it upheld the ban would have “very damaging and far reaching” consequences on British tennis.

Despite facing criticism in certain circles for its ban last year, Wimbledon was also praised for taking an independent approach as the only major tournament to prohibit Russian and Belarusian athletes while the war was ongoing. With the invasion continuing in various parts of Ukraine, it raises the question as to whether the LTA has made the right decision by bowing to certain pressures.

Players from the countries in question will have to adhere to certain conditions during their time at SW19. Among those, they’ll be prevented from making any ‘expressions of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in various forms’.

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