Will Russian and Belarusian players like Aryna Sabalenka, Daniil Medvedev compete at Wimbledon? What about visa delays?

Will Russian and Belarusian players like Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev be able to play at Wimbledon this year after being banned in 2022? What about visa issues? Will there be ranking points on offer again at Wimbledon?

Here’s everything you need to know about Russian and Belarusian players competing at Wimbledon 2023.

Can Russian and Belarusian players compete at Wimbledon?

Yes.

In 2022 Russian and Belarusian players were banned from competing at Wimbledon following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was supported by Belarus.

The decision, which went against the stance held by all other tournaments on the ATP and WTA tours and the three other Grand Slams, led to Wimbledon being stripped of ranking points.

They will also need to comply with certain conditions, such as agreeing not to support the Russian and/or Belarusian states, or their regimes and leaders.

The decision means Belarusian women’s world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and Russian men’s world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev will be among the players returning to Wimbledon.

“I will be happy if I’m able to come to UK to play Wimbledon,” said Medvedev after his first-round loss at the French Open.

“I’m gonna try to manage to do better this year in Wimbledon than the years before.”

Sabalenka said she is “super excited” to return to Wimbledon.

“I really like to play there; I really enjoy the atmosphere.

“I really missed last year Wimbledon, and yeah, just can’t wait to come back and show my best tennis.”

What about the visa situation and delays?

One potential stumbling block for Russian and Belarusian players hoping to compete at Wimbledon has been getting a visa to travel to the UK.

The Home Office is reportedly carrying out additional checks on Russian and Belarusian nationals.

Russian Mirra Andreeva, 16, said at the French Open that she is still waiting for her visa to be approved to see if she can play at the Grand Slam.

“Now I’m limited still in tournaments, so my next tournament has to be Wimbledon,” she said.

“But I don’t get my visa yet, so we will see if I can participate in Wimbledon or no.”

Russian Karen Khachanov said that he “heard that it takes much longer to issue the visa.”

He is able to play as he still has a visa from previous years.

Sabalenka confirmed after her French Open semi-final defeat that her visa has been approved.

“Yes, now I have visa. I’m coming to Wimbledon, which is great news.”

Another Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, looks set to miss Wimbledon as she is not ranked high enough to enter the main draw or qualifying.

Asked about her chances of getting a wild card, the former French Open runner-up said: “Are you serious? Do you think after the situation last year they would give me a wild card this year?”

Russian and Belarusian players have been competing as neutral athletes on the ATP and WTA tours since the invasion of Ukraine started early last year.

Which Russian and Belarusian players could compete at Wimbledon?

Belarusian women’s world No. 2 Sabalenka and Russian men’s world No. 3 Medvedev are far from the only high-profile players impacted by Wimbledon’s decision to lift last year’s ban.

There are four other Russian and/or Belarusian women in the top 20 – Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova, Luidmila Samsonova, and Victoria Azarenka.

Russian duo Andrey Rublev and Khachanov are both in the ATP top 10.

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