Novak Djokovic slams Wimbledon's ban on Russian tennis players as 'crazy' and says politics should be kept out of sport

• Wimbledon said it would ban Russian and Belarusian tennis players from competing in 2022.
• It cited not wishing to give Russia a publicity boost amid its invasion of Ukraine as a reason.

Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic slammed the decision to bar all Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing at Wimbledon as "crazy."

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which organizes the tennis Grand Slam, said in a Wednesday statement that it would not permit Russian or Belarusian players to compete in 2022 over the Ukraine invasion. Belarus is a close Russian ally.

The No. 2 world-ranked men's star, Russia's Daniil Medvedev, would be among those barred from Wimbledon.

The AELTC cited fears that President Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime could benefit from allowing Russians to compete, saying: "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."

"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."

Djokovic criticized Wimbledon's actions hours after the announcement was made.

Speaking at the Serbian Open, his home event, Djokovic drew parallels between the Ukraine war and the Kosovo war in the late 1990s, which took place when he was a child.

"I will always condemn war, I will never support war being myself a child of war," Djokovic said, per numerous outlets.

"I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. In Serbia we all know what happened in 1999. In the Balkans we have had many wars in recent history.

"However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good."

Djokovic has himself been involved in a political controversy in 2022, having been banned from competing in the Australian Open and deported from Australia because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Djokovic's remarks echoed those of the ATP, which runs tennis' elite men's tour. In a statement soon after Wimbledon's decision was announced, the ATP said that banning Russians sets a "damaging precedent" for tennis.

"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," the statement said.

Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian athletes also drew the ire of the Kremlin.

"Once again they simply turn athletes into hostages to political prejudice, political intrigues," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to Agence France-Presse. "This is unacceptable."