Daniil Medvedev may be facing a ban from this years Wimbledon Championships due to his home country being involved in a war with Ukraine.
Wimbledon authorities are reportedly considering a blanket ban on all Russian tennis players from this year’s Grand Slam tournament unless they provide assurances that they do not support President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
The condition may rule out players like Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev from competing on the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s grass courts.
British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said he would not be comfortable with a “Russian athlete flying the Russian flag” and winning the grass-court Grand Slam in London.
“Many countries have agreed that they will not allow representatives from Russia to compete. There are also visa issues as well. When it comes to individuals, that is more complex,” Huddleston said at a select committee in parliament when asked about Medvedev competing at Wimbledon.
“Absolutely nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed or enabled.”
“We need some potential assurance that they are not supporters of Putin and we are considering what requirements we may need to try and get some assurances along those lines,”.
Medvedev became the No. 1 tennis players in the world last month but lost the top spot following a third-round loss at Indian Wells.
Russian and Belarusian players are currently allowed to play on the ATP and WTA tours but not under the flag of their countries.
Russia was also banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup team titles, a decision that followed the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Wimbledon runs from June 27th to July 10th
