Individual players should not be punished for the actions of their political leaders
Individual players should not be punished for the actions of their political leaders
last wednesday Wimbledon’s decision to reject Russian and Belarusian players’ entries A can of worms has been opened for the 2022 edition of the world’s premier tennis tournament. with him Russo-Ukraine War Furious, the All England Club stated that “it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefit from the participation of Russian or Belarusian players with the Championship”. Even as the club acknowledged it was difficult for individual athletes, chairman Ian Hewitt said “they would suffer for the actions of the leaders of the Russian regime”. It will affect dozens of players, including men’s World No. 2 and current US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, World No. 8 Andrey Rublev, women’s World No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka and two-time majors winner Victoria Azarenka. The move was by no means unique; In March, World Athletics similarly excommunicated Russian and Belarusian athletes. But Wimbledon’s decision was unprecedented because, unlike other sports, tennis is more or less beyond nationalism. Except for team events such as the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup – to which Russia is currently banned – players’ entry into tournaments is based solely on ranking and not nationality. Criticism from stalwarts such as Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova was rooted in this fact, leading to backlash from the ATP and WTA, the governing bodies of the men’s and women’s tours.
That Wimbledon could act unilaterally has a lot to do with tennis’ scattered administration. There is no umbrella organization directing the game; The four majors, the ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation, operate independently. There is not even an autonomous players’ union. Lacking checks and balances, Wimbledon appears to have avoided the optics of a Russian or Belarusian player atop the trophy – a real possibility considering Sabalenka was a semifinalist in 2021 – thought it best to impose a blanket ban. it was good. But this goes against the principle of fairness and equal opportunity and could force the ATP and WTA to strip the ranking points event, turning it into a spectacular exhibition tournament. The episode also brings to mind the role of the British government, whose guidelines were stated by Wimbledon to be taken into account. Last month, Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston demanded that Russian players “were not supporters of Vladimir Putin” despite Medvedev and Rublev publicly calling for peace. In fact, Mr Huddleston’s approach was similar to the one supported by Ukrainian players led by two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Elina Svitolina. While one can sympathize with the sentiments of Ukrainians, given their tragic life experiences, it sets a harmful precedent when nations begin to punish individual citizens for the actions of political leaders. It appears that both Wimbledon and the British government do not want to see wood for the trees.