Culture secretary Lucy Frazer is confident Russian and Belarusian players will abide by strict neutrality rules allowing them to return to Wimbledon.
Players from the two countries were banned from competing at the All England Club in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine.
They are permitted to take part in this year’s Championship, which begins on Monday, but must follow a series of guidelines outlined by the government.
Frazer, who is in charge of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, believes it would have been “totally inappropriate” to not impose conditions in relation to the ongoing war.
“We’re really looking forward to Wimbledon, it’s one of the most important competitions in the calendar,” she told the PA news agency.
“We’ve made our position very clear: there are certain circumstances in which it would be totally inappropriate for Russian and Belarussian tennis players to take part.
“We put that in our guidance and that is being followed by Wimbledon.
“There are procedures in place to ensure that they don’t (breach the rules) and I’m confident that those will be followed appropriately.”
Wimbledon will fall in line with the other three Grand Slams by allowing Russian and Belarusian players to compete.
Men’s world number three Daniil Medvedev and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, ranked second by the WTA, are among those set to return.
Participation was dependent on players signing a personal declaration of neutrality, meaning they cannot express support for the invasion of Ukraine, or for the leadership of Russian president Vladimir Putin or his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
Players may also not be in receipt of state sponsorship, while they cannot be seen with any item containing a symbol which might indicate support for the war, or the Russian and Belarusian regimes.
With the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on the horizon, Frazer believes it is important there is a unified international stance on the situation.
“As a country we are working with other countries in relation to, for example, the Olympics,” she said, speaking in Eastbourne as part of a £30million investment by the government and LTA to refurbish 1,000 public tennis courts across the UK.
“I held a summit with around 35 other countries to set our position in relation to the Olympics because we need to ensure that across the world we’re taking the same international stance.”
LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd says guidelines for Russian and Belarusian players have been respected at warm-up competitions for Wimbledon, such as Queen’s and the ongoing Rothesay International at Eastbourne.
“We’ve worked extremely closely with the government and indeed the international tennis tours – the ATP, the WTA, the ITF – to ensure that there is a process in place that follows the UK government guidance and makes sure that players are able to play on the specific terms that that lays out,” he said.
“It’s worked well so far over the last few weeks of grass court tournaments here in Britain and I’m certain that will continue into the Championships next week.
“Those relationships with the tours are extremely strong and we are all aligned in making sure that the tournaments go according to plan.”
Swiatek races into Madrid Open final with dominant win over Keys
Iga Swiatek cruised into her second Madrid Open final on Thursday, maintaining her ominous form by beating Madison Keys 6-1 6-3 within 71 minutes.
Swiatek had been forced to fight back from a set down against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarter-finals, but there was no slow start on Thursday as she broke Keys' serve to love at the first attempt.
Only in the fifth game, when Keys failed to convert two break points, was Swiatek troubled in a 31-minute opener, and she carried that momentum into the second set with another early break.
Having eliminated Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur on a deeply impressive run, Keys had no answer for Swiatek's power as she clinically worked her way through the second set, the American's forehand running long on match point to seal a routine win for the world number one.
Having lost last year's final against Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek could face a rematch against the defending champion, who takes on Elena Rybakina in Thursday's other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Swiatek surpasses Serena
Saturday's final will be Swiatek's 11th at WTA 1000-level, the Pole going all the way on 37.9 per cent of her 29 main-draw entries at that level. That is a better ratio than 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams managed in her glittering career, the American doing so at 18 of 49 WTA 1000 tournaments (36.7 per cent).
Swiatek has now played eight matches in 2024 without dropping a single game on her own serve, a tally only matched by her possible final opponent Sabalenka on the WTA tour.
Top seed Sinner withdraws from Madrid Open ahead of quarter-finals
Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Madrid Open due to a hip injury ahead of his scheduled quarter-final clash with Felix Auger Aliassime.
The world number two was due to face Auger Aliassime for a place in the semi-finals after fighting back to overcome Karen Khachanov in three sets on Tuesday.
However, the Italian has been advised to withdraw to avoid aggravating an issue with his right hip, which he says has troubled him throughout the tournament.
Sinner, who is 28-2 for the season and won his first grand slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year, wrote on X: "Very sad to have to withdraw from my next match here in Madrid.
"My hip has been bothering me this week and has slowly been getting more painful. Taking the advice from the doctors, we decided it's best to not play further and make it worse."
Sinner's withdrawal means Auger Aliassime will advance to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since 2022, with Daniil Medvedev or Jiri Lehecka – who eliminated Rafael Nadal on Tuesday – up next for the Canadian.
On the other side of the draw, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, with the Russian set to face either Taylor Fritz or Francisco Cerundolo in the last four.
Alcaraz sees Madrid Open reign ended by Rublev in last eight
Carlos Alcaraz saw his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open crown dashed on Wednesday, as Andrey Rublev fought back to seal a statement quarter-final win over the defending champion.
Alcaraz had been pushed close in the last 16 by Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday, requiring two tie-breaks to see off the German in three sets, and those exertions seemed to take their toll as he produced a below-par display on Wednesday.
Seven unforced errors from Rublev helped the home favourite take the opener, but he appeared to tire from there as his seventh-seeded opponent fired in 27 winners in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory.
Rublev broke Alcaraz's serve in the first and fifth games of the decider, also serving impressively to deny the Spaniard a single break point after a nervous first hold.
Alcaraz's exit ended home interest in the tournament, just one day after five-time champion Rafael Nadal was dumped out in the last 16 by Jiri Lehecka.
Speaking to Sky Sports Tennis, Rublev said: "I can't believe that I was able to stay calm throughout the match. I didn't say a word and even I'm impressed by that!
"I want to believe that I have been working on this because if not, then I'm stupid. I just thought to myself to keep trying, keep fighting, keep believing in yourself."
Data Debrief: Major scalp for Rublev
To say Rublev entered Wednesday's match as the underdog would be an understatement. Alcaraz was looking to become the first player to win three straight Madrid Open singles titles, and was 24-0 in Spanish clay-court events since the start of 2022.
Rublev, though, was not overawed by the occasion and punished a sluggish performance from the world number three. Wednesday's win was his first over a top-three opponent since 2022, and he will now face either Taylor Fritz or Francisco Cerundolo in the last four.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
