LRussian and Belarusian athletes who want to compete in Great Britain will have to prove that they are “genuinely independent and neutral” by performing a written statement condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The British Sports Minister, Nigel Huddleston, confirmed that this measure will be carried out. that it would include tournaments like Wimbledon, although he also warned that “if some individual sports or entities choose to completely ban the participation of Russian or Belarusian athletes, we will also support it”.
Thus, these athletes could not use the colors of their country or compete under a national flag. Therefore, to demonstrate his status as a neutral athlete, Huddleston explained that “if they say they are neutral, we want the assurance that they are genuinely neutral and, therefore, there is no connection with Putin.”
This measure can have a great impact on Wimbledon, where Russian and Belarusian players could compete as neutrals according to the measures adopted by the ATP, the WTA and the Grand Slam organizers. Russian Daniil Medvedev is number two in the world, while Belarusian Sabalenka is number five in women.
