Tennis legend Billie Jean King has revealed she âcannot supportâ a ban of Russian and Belarusian players at Wimbledon.Wimbledon organisers announced earlier this week that players from the two countries would be prohibited from playing at this yearâs Grand Slam, following the invasion of Ukraine in February.It became the first elite tennis event to explicitly prohibit stars from Russia and Belarus from competing.Neither the ATP or WTA have enforced a blanket ban at their events. Instead, players have been to compete in a neutral capacity, without displaying their national flag or having their national anthem played.King, who formed the WTA in 1973, released a statement criticising Wimbledonâs decision to enforce a ban.âThe decision of the LTA and the AELTC regarding the Russian and Belarusian players at this yearâs tournament was a difficult and complex undertaking, and I appreciate the challenges and pressures they are facing,â she wrote.âOne of the guiding principles of the founding of the WTA was that any girl in the world, if she was good enough, would have a place to compete. I stood by that in 1973 and I stand by that today.âI cannot support the banning of individual athletes from any tournament, simply because of their nationality.âTennis is stronger when we stand together, and our continued support of the Tennis Plays for Peace initiative, which provides meaningful financial support and resources to Ukraine, needs to be our focus.âThe decision from the All England Club has also been slammed by Martina Navratilova and Novak Djokovic.
Former tennis world number three Elina Svitolina has not criticised the prohibition, but instead asked the WTA and ATP to ban Russian and Belarusian players who have failed to denounce the invasion of her home country.
âIn times of crisis, silence means agreeing with what is happening,â she wrote. âThere comes a time when silence is betrayal, and that time is now.â
A number of high-ranking tennis stars are now set to miss out on Wimbledon.
Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev are the notable absentees from the menâs tournament, while their Russian teammates Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova will miss the womenâs event.
The ban on Belarusian players impacts world number four Aryna Sabalenka, who reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon last year.
Former world number one Viktoria Azarenka, who progressed to the last four at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012, also misses out.