Dhe world number one Novak Djokovic can also start without vaccination against the corona virus at the grass classic in Wimbledon for the desired title defense. This is not a requirement for participation in the third Grand Slam tournament of the year from June 27 to July 10, said Sally Bolton, managing director of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), on Tuesday. Djokovic has won the title six times at Wimbledon, most recently last year.
Bolton stressed that they would encourage professionals to get vaccinated. The British government would also no longer require this for entry. “We plan to return to a normal tournament this year,” Bolton said. “Therefore we will not implement any of the Covid-19 measures of the past year in any substantial form.”
The 34-year-old Djokovic was unable to defend his title at the Australian Open at the beginning of the season because he was expelled from the country due to the lack of vaccination. For this reason, he was also not admitted to the American tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. At his home tournament in Belgrade, Djokovic had recently lost in the final. There are also no corona rules in the way of a start in Rome and at the French Open.
Don’t become part of the “propaganda machine”.
Meanwhile, the organizers of Wimbledon have defended the exclusion of tennis professionals from Russia and Belarus. Due to the requirements of the British government, there was “no viable alternative”, said Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), on Tuesday. If professionals from Russia and Belarus were allowed to participate with a declaration against the war in Ukraine, “we risked that their success would have been used to the advantage of the Russian regime’s propaganda machine,” Hewitt said. “We believe we made the most responsible decision possible.”
Comeback im Herbst: Roger Federer
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Bild: imago images / PanoramiC
Wimbledon is the first event to ban tennis pros because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This affects, for example, the world number two Daniil Medvedev from Russia and the two-time Grand Slam tournament winner Victoria Asarenka from Belarus. The two professional organizations ATP and WTA had criticized the decision and could possibly take consequences. So it is in the room that no world ranking points will be awarded for Wimbledon this year. A decision could be made at meetings in Madrid this week.
Federer plant Comeback im Herbst
The longtime “King of Wimbledon”, Roger Federer, meanwhile announced on Tuesday that he would like to start at the home tournament in Basel this autumn after his planned comeback. The organizers of the Swiss Indoors announced on Tuesday that the 40-year-old had confirmed his participation and would play his opening game on October 25th. “I’m happy to play at home again,” Federer wrote on Instagram.
The 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner had his right knee operated on for the third time last August. Most recently, he was on the tennis court in a match in the quarter-finals in Wimbledon in July 2021. So far he has also confirmed his participation in the Laver Cup at the end of September, the duel between a European team and a world team.
Federer has already won the Swiss Indoors ten times and also won the title in the last edition in 2019. The Swiss will start with a protected ATP ranking as number 9. The Swiss Indoors are endowed with 2.276 million euros.
