Wimbledon 2022: Organizers feared Russian participation would fuel a ‘propaganda machine’

Banning Russian and Belarusian tennis players from this year’s Wimbledon tournament in light of the war in Ukraine is not discriminatory, say organizers of the grand slam tournament.

The tournament’s chairman Ian Hewitt said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had placed organizers in “an extreme and exceptional situation,” adding that the decision to implement a player ban had been made in line with UK government directives.