Wimbledon

Why World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev Can't Play at the 2022 Wimbledon

Daniil Medvedev is just one of the many Russian and Belarusian tennis players banned from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships by the All England Club.

Why world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev can’t play at the 2022 Wimbledon originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Wimbledon is just days away and while the excitement for the prestigious grass court Slam is high, the tournament will not look the same this year.

One of the biggest differences will be the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian tennis players, including world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.

In response, the ATP and WTA made the decision to strip ranking points from this year’s event. Competitors will still be granted prize money out of a record-setting purse of 40.3 million pounds ($50.5 million).

Here’s everything you need to know about Medvedev and other Russian and Belarusian tennis players not playing Wimbledon:

Why can’t Daniil Medvedev play at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships?

The All England Club, the home of Wimbledon, announced in April that Russian and Belarusian tennis players would not be able to compete at Wimbledon because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Belarus has aided Russia in the ongoing war.

Sports

News, videos, and rumors on the Boston Celtics, New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, and Boston Bruins, powered by NBC Sports Boston.

Meet the new guys: Red Sox additions who can make a difference in 2024

How Red Sox OF Tyler O'Neill could set crazy MLB record on Opening Day

“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 All England Club said.

"We have very carefully considered the alternative measures that might be taken within the U.K. 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 at The Championships.”

Wimbledon warmup tournaments in the U.K. are following similar guidelines banning Russians and Belarusians. However, points will not be stripped at these events, which include Nottingham, Birmingham, Eastbourne, and London, as there are other tournaments players could compete in those weeks.

Additionally, Russia and Belarus have been banned from competing in the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, and October’s combined WTA and ATP event held in Moscow has been suspended.

Wimbledon remains the only Grand Slam to have any kind of player ban due to the war. The U.S. Open recently announced that Russians and Belarusian players would be allowed to compete in Flushing Meadows as long as they do so under a neutral flag. 

Medvedev has an 8-4 record at Wimbledon and reached the fourth round of the event in 2021.

How have the ATP and WTA responded to the ban?

In May, the ATP and WTA made the decision to strip ranking points from Wimbledon this year.

"The ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental to our tour,” the ATP stated. “The decision by Wimbledon to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the U.K. this summer undermines this principle and the integrity of the ATP ranking system.”

The ATP added: “Our rules and agreements exist in order to protect the rights of players as a whole. Unilateral decisions of this nature, if unaddressed, set a damaging precedent for the rest of the tour. Discrimination by individual tournaments is simply not viable on a tour that operates in more than 30 countries.”

Meanwhile, the WTA said: "Nearly 50 years ago, the WTA was founded on the fundamental principle that all players have an equal opportunity to compete based on merit and without discrimination. The WTA believes that individual athletes participating in an individual sport should not be penalized or prevented from competing solely because of their nationalities or the decisions made by the governments of their countries.”

How did the All England Club respond to the removal of ranking points at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships?

The All England Club expressed deep frustration following the decisions of the ATP and WTA.

The All England Club responded: “We remain unwilling to accept success or participation at Wimbledon being used to benefit the propaganda machine of the Russian regime, which, through its closely controlled State media, has an acknowledged history of using sporting success to support a triumphant narrative to the Russian people.

“We therefore wish to state our deep disappointment at the decisions taken by the ATP, WTA and ITF in removing ranking points for The Championships. We believe these decisions to be disproportionate in the context of the exceptional and extreme circumstances of this situation and the position we found ourselves in, and damaging to all players who compete on Tour.”

What did players say about the ban?

In response to the ban of Russians and Belarusians at Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic criticized the All England Club's decision.

"I think it’s very unfair of (on) my Russian tennis mates, my colleagues ... it’s not their fault what’s happening in this moment with the war,” Nadal said at the Madrid Open earlier this year. 

"I'm sorry for them," Nadal added. “Wimbledon just took their decision ... the government didn’t force them to do it.”

Djokovic expressed similar emotions to the ban. "I think it’s just not fair, it’s not right, but it is what it is," he said.

Which players will not be able to compete at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships?

The following players in the top 100 will not get to compete at Wimbledon this year:

Women:

No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka

No. 13 Daria Kasatkina

No. 20 Victoria Azarenka

No. 22 Veronika Kudermetova

No. 28 Ekaterina Alexandrova

No. 34 Aliaksandra Sasnovich

No. 47 Liudmila Samsonova

No. 69 Varvara Gracheva

No. 87 Anastasia Potapova

No. 83 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Men: 

No. 1 Daniil Medvedev

No. 8 Andrey Rublev

No. 22 Karen Khachanov

No. 40 Ilya Ivashka

No. 43 Aslan Karatsev

Copyright RSN
Contact Us