While the organizers of Wimbledon have decided not to allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian nationals this year, a collective of players could take the case to court.
Will the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) have to explain itself to the courts? Last week, following firm instructions from the British government, the organizers of the Wimbledon tournament announced their decision to refuse registrations from Russian and Belarusian nationals for the 2022 edition of the third round of the Grand Slam, scheduled from June 27 to July 10 on the London lawn. A decision which, unsurprisingly, provoked an outcry from the ATP and the WTA, the latter having mentioned the risk of sanctions against the British institution, including the withdrawal of the points traditionally awarded. . However, while Novak Djokovic declared himself against, four national federations took up the cause of the AELTC. However, in the shadows, players from Russia and Belarus have come together in a collective with the ambition of taking legal action to challenge this exclusion linked to the situation in Ukraine.
Conciliation considered before going to court
Indeed, according to daily information The Team, this collective recently made contact with a lawyer based in Paris and whose specialty is as much human rights as the fight against discrimination. The action planned by these Russian and Belarusian representatives could be in two stages with an attempt at conciliation which could precede legal action. Their objective is to obtain from the AELTC and, more broadly, from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the authorization to participate in all the tournaments organized in Great Britain this year under a neutral banner, as is the case since the outbreak of war in Ukraine on the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour. An initiative that should be more widely presented to the press in the coming days. The leaders of Wimbledon, aware of the controversial nature of their position, have already considered that this case be settled before a judge before the tournament, which will mark the centenary of the Center Court.
