- The Washington Times - Thursday, March 17, 2022

Daniil Medvedev, the No. 1 ranked male tennis player in the world, could be facing a ban from Wimbledon if he doesn’t condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine. 

British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston floated the idea Tuesday that he may seek “assurances” from the Russian star that he does not support Putin or the invasion. Medvedev, who overtook the No. 1 spot from Novak Djokovic in late February, won the U.S. Open last year. 

“Absolutely nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed or enabled,” Huddleston said during a British Parliament select committee meeting when asked about Medvedev competing at Wimbledon this summer. “We need some potential assurance that they are not supporters of Putin, and we are considering what requirements we may need to try and get some assurances along those lines.”

Huddleston’s suggestion would be applied to all Russian and Belarusian tennis players, not just Medvedev. The 26-year-old said earlier this month when asked about the war: “My message is always the same. I want peace in all of the world.” He also posted a similar message on Twitter a few days after Putin first ordered strikes on Ukraine. He hasn’t publicly said anything more specific regarding the war or Putin. 

The ATP and WTA tours are allowing Russian and Belarusian players to compete neutrally, under no flag or country name. WTA CEO Steve Simon told BBC Tuesday that he doesn’t want to ban athletes for not criticizing “decisions of an authoritarian leadership.”

“You never know what the future may bring,” Simon said. “But I can tell you that we have never banned athletes from participating on our tour as the result of political positions their leadership may take.

“So it would take something very significant for that to change, but again we don’t know where this is going. I feel very strongly that these individual athletes should not be the ones that are being penalized by the decisions of an authoritarian leadership that is obviously doing terrible, reprehensible things.”

Wimbledon is scheduled to begin on June 27 and end July 10. 

• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.

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