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Wimbledon's decision after the war in Ukraine has its first effects. The Grand Slam tournament last year opted for the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian tennis players; this season, however, the music changes. Players of this nationality will be able to return to the All England Club provided they sign a declaration of neutrality: they must agree to compete as neutral athletes, who will not express support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and who will not receive funding from the Russian government or its affiliated companies in government during their stay in the UK.
The latter condition could be a problem for those who wear brands related to warfare. This is the case of Veronika Kudermetova. The Russian tennis player, who reached the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open tournament, wears the Tatneft brand: a Russian company that supplies materials to the Russian army and which has been sanctioned by the EU for its role in the invasion of the Ukraine.
Wimbledon's decision after the war in Ukraine has its first effects
In order for the tennis player to participate in the next edition of Wimbledon, the Russian tennis player will have to remove her branding. Which she will do, as told to The Guardian on the occasion of the Madrid tournament.
She explained: "For now, I'm not breaking a rule, if something changes I'll do something about it. For now, I'm not breaking a rule. For Wimbledon, yeah, I know we can't wear our country's crest, but, I mean, I'm OK with that.
For now I can wear that badge and I did." Therefore, under these conditions, Russian and Belarusian tennis players will be able to return to Wimbledon: in the United Kingdom, as revealed by Russia number one in the ranking, Daria Kasatkina, they will be allowed to train, given their difficulty, especially for those sailing in the upper part of the world rankings, to return to their homeland to do the necessary training.