In the early morning of March 16, Beijing time, it was revealed from the well-known British media inlines website that Russian tennis star Medvedev, who has just lost the ATP world ranking no. 1 throne, is about to face a ban from the Wimbledon Tennis Open. The reason is that in the "Russian-Ukrainian conflict", he has always maintained a neutral attitude and has not publicly condemned his motherland.
British Sports Minister Huddleston said publicly in a recent interview that they are considering banning Russian tennis players, including Medvedev, from playing Wimbledon: "We are currently discussing this issue with sports organizations! We need assurances from athletes that they are not supporters of the war. Let's put it this way, like if a Russian athlete held the Russian flag, would I be comfortable? No, it won't. They must publicly condemn the war, and their own leaders! ”
As a Grand Slam winner, Medvedev has previously briefly surpassed Djokovic to ascend to the world's No. 1 throne. Although he didn't sit in the No. 1 position in the world for long, Medvedev has indeed become a world-class player.
But with the outbreak of the "Russian-Ukrainian conflict", Medvedev also fell into controversy because of his nationality. Although he has repeatedly expressed his desire for world peace, this attitude has not been satisfactory to the outside world, including the Ukrainian actress Kostyuk who attacked Medvedev, arguing that if he was neutral, he should not qualify for the competition.
And if Medvedev refuses to publicly condemn his homeland, there is a high probability that he will not be able to participate in this year's Wimbledon. His collective absence from Wimbledon and other elite Russian tennis players would undoubtedly be a huge loss to the historic four-time Grand Slam tournament.