Wimbledon will allow Russian and Belarusian tennis players to participate

The Wimbledon tennis tournament has announced that it intends to accept applications from Russian and Belarusian tennis players this summer, something that was not the case a year ago.

Source. This was reported by CNN.

The applications will be "subject to the condition that they act as 'neutral' athletes and abide by the relevant conditions," including a ban on demonstrating support for Russia's invasion and the entry of players who receive state funding from Russia or Belarus, according to a press release from the tournament published on Friday.

According to the organizers, "the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from our tournaments has resulted in significant penalties from the ATP and WTA, including the real prospect of our membership being suspended if we repeat the ban in 2023."

"We have agreed that all Russian and Belarusian players and staff wishing to participate in our events in 2023 will be required to sign a declaration of neutrality. This is in line with the UK government's recommendations and is an approach used in other sports," the statement said.

In addition to neutrality, the Wimbledon organizers will require Russian and Belarusian tennis players not to receive funding from their respective states, and promise to apply a "zero tolerance" approach to any flags, symbols or other actions that support Russia, Belarus or the war.

Background. Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Thursday condemned the negative reaction of many European countries to the partial return of Russians and Belarusians to world sport.