Players will be required to sign neutrality agreementsRussian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete atand the British grass-court tennis tournaments this year after the All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association jointly opted to reverse their bans on the players for this season’s events.
“We continue to condemn totally Russia’s illegal invasion and our wholehearted support remains with the people of,” said Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club, in a statement. “This was an incredibly difficult decision, not taken lightly or without a great deal of consideration for those who will be impacted.”
“We are now in a position where we believe that the declaration route is viable, which we didn’t last year,” said Sally Bolton, CEO of the AELTC, who also expressed her disappointment at the reaction from the tours last year. In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the question of how to treat Russian and Belarusian professional tennis players has proven one of the most divisive issues in the recent history of the sport.Association and the International Tennis Federation have allowed the players to compete as neutral athletes around the world without being required to sign a declaration, the AELTC and LTA decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players from their events.