Russian and Belarusian tennis professionals are very frustrated: Since Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is still going on, Wimbledon has decided not to let any Russian players participate in the third Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Furthermore, there will be no world ranking points awarded in London. One Russian has now at least fought back against the fact that she is not allowed to participate. She is now a Georgian and is consequently allowed to compete at Wimbledon.
She is Natela Dzalamidze, the world number 43 in doubles. Born in Moscow, the 29-year-old is now registered as a Georgian on the WTA website. In fact, her last name indicates that Dzalamidze has Georgian roots.
As a result, she will have the opportunity to participate in the Wimbledon doubles competition with her Serbian partner Aleksandra Krunic from June 27, leaving stars such as Daniil Medvedev, Andrei Rublyov and Aryna Sabalenka to watch.
One Wimbledon spokesman was quoted by Thetimes.co.uk as saying that there was no possibility to prevent Dzalamidze from changing nationalities.
“The nationality of players, defined by the flag under which they play in professional events, is an agreed process governed by the tours (WTA and ATP) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF),” the spokesman said.
The two-time tournament winner had competed under a neutral flag at the French Open.
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