Wimbledon's double fault

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club’s decision to ban Russian and Belarussian players from the sole grass court Grand Slam this year amounts to serving a double fault at championship point, as Roger Federer did so tragically in the 2019 men’s finals. The Wimbledon management has explained its decision to “decline entry” as part of Europe’s united opposition to the Russian military aggression in Ukraine.

It is one thing to ban sportspeople and teams from international tournaments as representatives of an outlawed country — though that, too, remains the subject of fierce debate. But when these sportspeople compete in their capacity as individual professionals, their country of origin becomes incidental. This reasoning certainly applies to Wimbledon, which is played under the banner of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for men and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

In other words, there is no reason to disqualify Russian or Belarussian players from Wimbledon, any of the Grand Slams, Masters or other tournaments hosted by these supranational professional associations. It is country-specific tournaments such as the Davis Cup or the Federation Cup that may have a case for proscribing Russian/Belarussian players. These are played under the aegis of the International Tennis Federation, the world governing body for the sport.

This is broadly the policy most sports bodies have followed. In football, FIFA and UEFA have banned the Russian national football team and those from the Russian Premier League. The venue of the European Champions’ League final has also been relocated from Russia to France. But Russian/Belarussian footballers have not been banned from playing in clubs in other European leagues in their individual, professional capacity. In fact, FIFA has given newly unemployed players from Russian leagues permission to seek employment in European clubs. Even Russian-owned English Premier League club Chelsea, currently standing third, continues to compete, though it is up for sale because its owner Roman Abramovich has been put under sanctions.

In cricket, readers will recall that after South Africa was banned from world cricket in the late sixties, Barry Richards, one of the most gifted batsmen of his generation, continued to play county cricket in England, for Hampshire and Gloucestershire.  

The All England Club’s decision is of some significance because several Russian and Belarussian players feature in the top 20 rankings. There is the men’s world singles number two Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev at number eight. Among the women are Belarussians Aryna Sabalenka at number four and former world number one Victoria Azarenka now at rank 17. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at number 15 is from Russia. (Interestingly, they continue to figure in the ATP and WTA rankings but their countries are modestly blocked out.)

By banning these players, Wimbledon’s management has said it wants to play a role in “limiting Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible”. The notion of these athletes being sinister global political influencers is laughable. One irony in this sorry controversy is that most of them live outside Russia anyway.

Medvedev lives in Monte Carlo, Sabalenka lives in Miami, Azarenka in Boca Raton and Pavlyuchenkova in Dubai. Only Rublev lives in Moscow, which makes his openly anti-war stance truly courageous.

What’s really gotten the All England Club hot under its starchy all-white collar is that in-form Medvedev stands a good chance of winning the men’s single title. According to a Daily Telegraph report, the real fear for Wimbledon’s organisers from this outcome is this: The British royal family are patrons of the tournament. If Medvedev — or Sabalenka — were to win the trophy, the photos around the world would show a family member from Britain’s ceremonial head of state presenting a prize to a representative of a country that is outlawed by the western world.

The family member in this case is the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate nee Middleton, a tennis fan and apparently regarded by the All England Club as Wimbledon’s strongest brand ambassador. We know there are many social desperados who come to Wimbledon to be seen, and measure their status by an invitation to the royal box. But for most fans, the prize-giving ceremony may amount to little more than watching a woman of no noticeable achievement, beyond marriage to a man who may be a powerless king in the distant future, presenting the trophy to a top sportsperson. Like world number one Novak Djokovic, fans, too, will have trouble supporting the All England Club’s “crazy” decision.