US Open champion Daniil Medvedev might have to offer assurances that he doesn’t assist Russian president Vladimir Putin if he’s to compete at this 12 months’s Wimbledon, British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston stated on Tuesday.
Huddleston stated he wouldn’t be snug with a “Russian athlete flying the Russian flag” and profitable the grasscourt Grand Slam in London.
“Many countries have agreed that they will not allow representatives from Russia to compete. There are also visa issues as well. When it comes to individuals, that is more complex,” Huddleston stated at a choose committee in parliament when requested about Medvedev competing at Wimbledon.
“Absolutely nobody flying the flag for Russia should be allowed or enabled.”
Huddleston stated many athletes have a number of or twin citizenships and could be prepared to compete as “non-aligned, non-flag bearing entities” however that the scenario demanded additional motion.
“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,” he added.
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Huddleston stated he was discussing the problem with Wimbledon organisers, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).
Medvedev rose to primary within the males’s world rankings final month, though he’s set to lose prime spot to Novak Djokovic following a third-round loss at Indian Wells on Monday.
Russian and Belarusian gamers are allowed to play on the elite ATP and WTA Tours however not beneath the title or flag of their international locations.
Russia was additionally banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup group titles, a call that adopted the nation’s invasion of Ukraine final month.
Belarus was a key staging space for the invasion, which Russia says is a “special operation”.
Wimbledon runs from Jun 27-Jul 10.
