Wimbledon has confirmed there will be no COVID-19 measures in place at the 2022 tournament and vaccination will not be mandatory for players to participate, allowing Serbian world No.1 Novak Djokovic to defend his title.
Players will also be allowed to stay in their own private accommodation, unlike the last edition, when they had to all stay in a central London hotel to minimise the risks of COVID-19 infections.
Djokovic, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, was denied a chance to defend his Australian Open title in January, due to his unvaccinated status.
After an 11-day rollercoaster, involving two visa cancellations, two court challenges and five nights in two stints at an immigration detention hotel, Djokovic was deported from Australia, before the year's first major began in Melbourne.
"The requirements set up do not include mandatory vaccination," said All England Lawn Tennis Club chief executive Sally Bolton. "It will not be a condition of entry for the championships this year."
Organisers also say banning Russian and Belarusian players from this year's Wimbledon championships was the only viable option under guidance provided by the British Government.
The AELTC took the decision after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the stand was swiftly condemned by the men's and women's tours.
AELTC chairman Ian Hewitt said the Government guidance did not allow players to compete at the tournament based on their rankings and there were two available options - declining entries or allowing entries, but only with specific written declarations from individual players.
"We believe we have made the most responsible decision possible in the circumstances," said Hewitt, adding that they are having regular discussions with players, and the ATP and the WTA.
"Within the framework of the governance position, there's no viable alternative to the decision we have taken in this truly exceptional and tragic situation."
The move is the first time players have been banned on the grounds of nationality since the immediate post-World War Two era, when German and Japanese players were excluded.
Wimbledon is also the first tennis tournament to ban individual competitors from the two countries, meaning men's world No.2 Daniil Medvedev from Russia and women's fourth-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will be banned from the June 27-July 10 tournament.
Tennis governing bodies have banned Russia and Belarus from international team competitions after the invasion, but allowed players from the two countries to continue competing as neutrals.
The ATP and the WTA denounced the AELTC decision as "discriminatory", with women's tour chief Steve Simon last week warning of "strong reactions".
Reuters
