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A Russian-born tennis player will compete in Wimbledon this month despite a ban on Russian players after changing her nationality to represent Georgia.
Natera Zaramize (29 years old), who is ranked 43rd in the world in women’s doubles, is on the women’s doubles entry list in the championship (pdf) As Georgian.
She competed at the French Open last month under the neutral flag: Players were banned From competing under the name or flag of Russia or Belarus.
A spokesperson for the All England Club, which hosts the famous Grass Court Tournament, said: “A player’s nationality, defined as a flag to play in a professional event, is an agreed process managed by the Tour and the ITF. [International Tennis Federation].. “
According to The Times of London, the club was not involved in Zaramize’s nationality switch. According to the publication, the verification process was conducted through the Women’s Tennis Association and the ITF and required a valid Georgian passport.
The Wimbledon Tennis Championships will be held from June 27th to July 10th.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered the All England Club and Wimbledon Steering Committee on April 20 Reject entries from Russian and Belarusian players In response to the 2022 Championship, “In such an unjustified and unprecedented military aggression situation, it is unacceptable to the Russian government for Russian or Belarusian players to benefit from participating in the championship. Probably. “
President Ian Hewitt said at the time that the club was considering alternatives, but “the high-profile environment of the championship, the importance of disabling sports to promote the Russian regime, and the public. And our widespread concern about the safety of players (including families). “
As a result, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, ranked number one in the world for men’s singles, disappears from the grass court.
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Lily Zhou is a freelance writer who mainly covers the British news of The Epoch Times.
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