Russian and Belarusian players fear they could miss Wimbledon due to delay in the UK issuing visas.
The All England club opted to ban players from both countries last year, meaning leading lights like Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka were forced to miss the tournament, following the invasion of Ukraine.
Authorities have now changed their stance after hefty fine, provided players from the two nations compete at Wimbledon under neutral flags and don't make any “supportive comments” regarding the war of the two regimes. Nineteen players from Russia and Belarus will enter the main draw, but world No 2 Sabalenka has revealed that her visa hasn't been approved.
Russia's teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva reached the third round on her Grand Slam debut at the French Open in Paris confirmed she is not yet sure whether or not she will be able to travel to Wimbledon.
She said: “I'm still limited in tournaments, so my next tournament has to be Wimbledon. But I don't get my visa yet, so we will see if I can participate in Wimbledon or not. But if not, we will just choose the tournaments and I will just maybe play some ITFs. I don't know yet.”
UK Visit Visas are taking at least six weeks to process due to the Home Office undertaking extra security checks on Russians and Belarusians. The usual five-day turnaround for priority processing is also taking longer for players from the two countries.
Ukrainian athletes have been outspoken in their actions and their words whilst the invasion continues. Belarusian athletes have faced frosty receptions with the country acting as a Russian ally, allowing them to use their land to launch attacks.
Sabalenka beat Marta Kostyuk in the first round of the French Open with the Ukrainian refusing the shake hands after their match and pleading with the UK to deny visas: “I just hope that someone like the U.K., for example, will just not grant visas and they will not be able to enter the country, and they will not play. As of now I think this is the only reasonable idea.”
In March, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed that Wimbledon’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete as “immoral”.
Last year it was Elena Rybakina who claimed victory at the All England club. The 23-year-old plays under a Kazakhstan flag despite being born Moscow and, in her winners' press conference, was quizzed on whether she condemned Vladimir Putin's actions and the war, but dodged the question by replying: "I don't understand the question, my English is not very good."
