The Wimbledon Championships commenced Tuesday devoid of Russian or Belarusian players taking the grass courts because of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February.

The invasion sparked a backlash towards Russian and Belarusian athletes across the sports activities earth. The All England Club, which organizes Wimbledon, made a decision to ban players from individuals nations around the world from actively playing in the 3rd significant tennis tournament of the year.

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Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club, speaks to the press on April 26, 2022, in London. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Photographs)

All England Club chairman Ian Hewitt described to ESPN he didn’t want Wimbledon to be a spot for gamers to spread propaganda nor did he want to "defy governing administration direction."

"Just one was a route to contemplate acquiring own declarations from players and, frankly, we did not assume that was the proper strategy for a event of our form," Hewitt explained of his solutions. "We have been not eager to put in jeopardy any safety of players, and we feel that that route would have associated implications for players' security or safety of their family members, which actually left no other practical choice.

"But also, it was incredibly critical to us that Wimbledon, given the profile that we have, really should not be used in any way, by the propaganda equipment which we know the Russian authorities employs in relation to its have folks and how their place in the planet is introduced and that would be, we just would not countenance Wimbledon achievements or participation in Wimbledon staying misused in that way.

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All England Club chairman Ian Hewitt explained to ESPN that he didn’t want Wimbledon to be a place for gamers to distribute propaganda. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Visuals)

"So as a end result of the blend of good reasons, we had been left with no feasible alternative other than to decrease entries. We massively regret the impact on the personal gamers afflicted, but we also hugely regret the influence on so quite a few harmless persons which the tragic circumstance in Ukraine has caused."

Hewitt added he was "disappointed" the ATP and the WTA stripped rankings factors from the tournament.

Novak Djokovic, a six-time Wimbledon champion, spoke out about the conclusion in April, stating that whilst he will generally condemn war, politics and sports should really in no way combine.

Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova in the course of the ladies' singles remaining at All England Garden Tennis and Croquet Club on July 10, 2021, in London. (AELTC/Ben Queenborough - Pool/Getty Impression)

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"I can not help the final decision of Wimbledon. I think it is ridiculous. When politics interferes with activity, the final result is not fantastic."

WHD News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.