A Russian Tennis Player Avoids Being Banned From Wimbledon By Changing Her Nationality
What a plot twist!
With the All England Club and the Committee of Management banning Russian players for this year's Wimbledon Championships 2022, one player recently changed her nationality.
Natela Dzalamide will be playing at the Wimbledon, after officially adopting a Georgian nationality. The 29-year-old, who is ranked at No 43 worldwide, is now listed with a Georgian nationality on the Women's Tennis Association website.
The athlete managed to avoid the Wimbledon ban that the organization had imposed on Russians following the invasion of Ukraine, reports CNN.
Regarding the change of nationality in order to compete, the All England Club denied any involvement in player's nationality change, and said that the "Player nationality, defined as the flag they play under at professional events, is an agreed process that is governed by the tours and the ITF (International Tennis Federation)," reports the BBC.
An All England Club spokesman told The Times they were powerless to interfere in Dzalamidze's change of nationality, as this was a matter for the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF), and that she had satisfied the entry requirements.
In April 2021, the All England Club, which organizes the yearly Wimbledon tennis tournament, barred Russians and Belarusians from competing at the tournament this year, in solidarity with Ukraine. During the French Open in May, Dzalamide competed under a neutral flag, as it was policy for Russian players to do so.
Dzalamide will be competing in women's doubles with Serbian tennis player Aleksandra Krunic, come the kick-off date of this year's tournament, which is on June 27.