Kremlin accuses Wimbledon of turning Russian tennis stars into 'hostages' over their ban from the tournament

• Wimbledon confirmed Wednesday that Russian tennis stars will be barred from this year's tournament.
• Before the ban was officially announced, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov criticized the decision.

The Kremlin has accused Wimbledon of trying to turn Russian athletes into "hostages to political prejudice" as the tournament moves to ban tennis players from the country from competing this year.

On Wednesday, the All England Club, which organizes the Grand Slam tournament, published a statement confirming earlier reports that no Russian or Belarusian players will be allowed into the tournament in 2022 amid the war in Ukraine.

"It is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of Government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia's global influence through the strongest means possible," the statement, released Wednesday afternoon in the UK, said.

"In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships.

"It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022."

Before official confirmation of the ban, on Tuesday, Sportico had reported that Russian stars would be barred from entering Wimbledon, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov addressing those reports on Wednesday morning.

"Once again they simply turn athletes into hostages to political prejudice, political intrigues," Peskov said, per a report from the AFP.

"This is unacceptable."

"Taking into account that Russia is a very strong tennis country, our athletes are at the top of world rankings, the competition itself will suffer from their removal," he added.

Peskov did not name any individual athletes but was likely referring to Russia's two highest-ranked players, world number two Daniil Medvedev and world number eight Andrey Rublev.

Medvedev's prominence in tennis and the likelihood that he could win Wimbledon is a key reason for the ban, the Daily Telegraph reported, citing fears that his winning the tournament could be used as a propaganda tool by Putin's government.

This fear is exacerbated, the Telegraph added in another report, by the fact that the trophy for Wimbledon is usually presented by a member of the British royal family.

Soon after Wimbledon announced the barring of Russian athletes, the ATP, which oversees elite men's tennis, criticized the decision, saying it "sets a damaging precedent for the game."

"We believe that today's unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the LTA to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year's British grass-court swing is unfair and has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game," it read.