Royal Family fears the biggest reason for Wimbledon ban on Russian athletes?
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Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, Duke of Cambridge Prince Williams and Daniil Medvedev
The tennis world has been stunned by the breathtaking news of Wimbledon organisers set to ban the Russian and Belarusian athletes from the upcoming 2022 Wimbledon Championships as Russia continues to wage war in Ukraine with the war now set to complete 2 months as it began on the 24th February 2022.
While many other sports have banned the Russian teams from participating, tennis had also followed the suit and suspended the Russian and Belarusian tennis federations which meant the respective players did not have their national flag next to them and were ‘neutral athletes’. Even WTA Chief Steve Simon had expressed that suspending individuals did not make sense as they are in no way linked to the war apart from their nationality.
Wimbledon however, has become the first tournament to take the step of banning the athletes as the All-England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) is independent and can decide who they will allow or not and it seems they have made their decision. Amongst this, reports have emerged that even the Royal Family has had its say and that too a big say.
As per the Telegraph, the Royal Family fears that if the Russian or Belarusian players that includes the likes of men’s World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev another Top-10 player, or former World No. 1 and 2-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka or current World No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka are real title contenders for the title and them being hailed as the champions with the oldest and most prestigious trophy will be a shame to the Family as a member of the Family presents it to the players.
With the global attention coming to the finals where a Royal Family member will be seen celebrating the win of a Russian/Belarusian player, the Royal Family is said to have influenced the decision of banning the players from the two nations in order to eliminate any risk of them being photographed with anyone related to the Russian aggression.
The Duchess of Cambridge is a patron of the Wimbledon
With a change of guard at the Wimbledon last year, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge has taken the senior role as the President of the AELTC and she could be the one handing the champion’s trophy to the victorious player on Center Court after the finals. While the Royal Family keeps itself away from the issues of the government in the dual-government system of the country, this decision is heavily linked to the Royal Family.
Also Read: ”Disgusting and Cowardly act” Tennis world fumes over Wimbledon decision to ban Russian players
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)