According to a report, a Russian tennis player escaped a Wimbledon ban on all participants from her country by changing her nationality to Georgian. When the competition begins on June 27, Natela Dzalamidze, a 29-year-old doubles player rated No. 44 in the world, will compete in the women’s doubles alongside Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Wimbledon organisers, the All-England Club, stated in April that players from Russia and Belarus would be excluded from competing this year.
However, an All-England Club representative informed The Times that they were powerless to intervene in Dzalamidze’s change of nationality because it was an issue for the WTA and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and that she had met the entry standards.
“Player nationality, defined as the flag they represent at professional events,” the representative explained, “is an agreed-upon process supervised by tours and the ITF.”
Wimbledon’s restriction on players from Russia and Belarus sparked a backlash in the tennis world, with the WTA and the ATP, the male equivalent, both deducting ranking points from the tournament.
The US Open said last week that Russian and Belarus players will be permitted to compete under a neutral flag, but none of the other Grand Slam tournaments have followed Wimbledon’s lead.
The ban has left out a slew of elite players, including Daniil Medvedev, the men’s world number one and reigning US Open champion, and Victoria Azarenka, a two-time major winner.
