Why, Wimbledon, Why?
Excluding Russian players accomplishes little but hurts many
On April 20th, 2022, a stunning announcement was made about this year’s Wimbledon championships. In response to the war in Ukraine, the tournament’s organizers have chosen to exclude all Russian and Belarusian players from competing on its hallowed grass courts.
On its face, this move may look like a noble gesture of solidarity in response to an unprovoked, barbaric assault by Russia but, looking deeper, we see that it’s nothing more than virtue signaling that will only wind up punishing innocent bystanders.
The rationale for the ban was laid out in an official statement by the All England Club and the Committee of Management of the Championships. According to these governing bodies that oversee Wimbledon, “it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships.”
The way I see it, the “benefits” they describe fall into two possible categories: prestige and money.
A Matter of Pride
The tennis world has, in fact, already taken steps to minimize the honor and prestige that Russia might derive from Russian players’ victories. Collectively, tennis tournaments, broadcasters, and players’ associations have refused to fly or display (even in digital graphics) the flags of Russia or Belarus when players from these countries are competing.
Similar to renaming Team Russia as the “Russian Olympic Committee” at the most recent Olympic games in response to that country’s egregious violations of anti-doping laws, professional tennis is effectively saying “we refuse to let these individuals play on behalf of, or as citizens of, Russia.”
Logically, it follows that Russia can take little pride in Russian athletes whose nationality isn’t recognized on the world stage.
Follow the Money
Then there’s the issue of money. In the case of Wimbledon, the only parties that really stand to lose out financially are the players. The reality is that, except for the very top tier of high-profile names, most tennis players are not millionaires who can afford to skip tournaments like Wimbledon and the other “Majors” like the Australian and US Open.
The fact is, most professional tennis players barely eke out a living, fighting for limited prize money in smaller tournaments. The Majors are an opportunity for lower-ranked players to compete and earn decent prize money that can make the difference between earning a modest living or going into debt.
For example, a player’s earnings for losing in the first round of Wimbledon in 2021 was £48,000 [about $63,000], compared to just $6000 for a first-round loss at a much smaller “250” event.
The only money that Russia theoretically stands to earn from Russian tennis players is from income tax on their earnings. In the grand scheme of a multi-billion-dollar war, this money from tax revenue is negligible. The reality is that high-earning tennis players (like Russian Daniil Medvedev) often relocate to tax havens like Monaco where they pay little to no tax on their earnings.
A Different Kind of Boycott
To be clear, I am fully on board with the sporting world using boycotts as a tool to deprive a hostile nation of both the prestige and money that comes with hosting athletic events. Last year, in response to state-sanctioned intimidation and censorship of a Chinese professional tennis player who accused a government official of sexual assault, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) made the bold decision to suspend all tournaments in China.
Unlike the Wimbledon ban, this move by the WTA puts direct financial pressure on China by depriving its economy of likely billions of dollars generated by numerous high-profile tournaments held in that country. It seems all but certain that the WTA and ATP will follow suit when it comes to Russian tournaments.
It has been inspiring to see the world rally around Ukraine and impose creative, hard-nosed tactics for isolating and punishing Russia for its indefensible war. But Wimbledon’s ban of players from Russia and Belarus is just misguided.
If the ban holds, it will financially harm a large group of players with no connection to the war, while having virtually no effect on the Russian government and Putin’s war machine.
