Teenager Mirra Andreeva among Russian and Belarusian players struggling to get UK visa for Wimbledon

Russian and Belarusian players are facing visa delays which could block them from competing at Wimbledon.

Despite having the ban on them being allowed to play at the tournament lifted this year, a number of Russian and Belarusian players are still yet to receive permission to enter the United Kingdom — let alone travel to the grass courts at SW19.

UK visit visa applications usually take a minimum of six weeks to process, but Telegraph Sport understands that the Home Office is conducting additional, time-consuming security checks for Russian and Belarusian nationals, as a result of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

According to sources, priority processing [which usually have 1-5 day turnarounds] has also been slower than usual for the players involved.

While Wimbledon organisers are not said to be worried — as a number of players have already successfully received their visas — anxiety is building for those that are still waiting for confirmation they can play one of the biggest events of the season.

One of the favourites to win the women’s tournament, Belarusian and world No 2 Aryna Sabalenka, said last month in an Instagram Q&A that she was still waiting for her visa to be approved.

Telegraph Sport has contacted Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, the world No 2 on the men’s side, for comment on his situation.  
The All England Club backtracked on their controversial ban against Russian and Belarusian players for this year’s event, due to pressure and hefty fines from the tennis tours.

This latest development, however, brings their decision back into the spotlight again.

On Saturday Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva said that she intended to play Wimbledon for the first time, but has not yet received a visa to enter the UK despite applying well within the six-week window.

“My next tournament has to be Wimbledon. But I don’t get my visa yet, so we will see if I can participate in Wimbledon or not,” Andreeva told reporters. But if not, we will just choose the tournaments and I will just maybe play some ITFs.”

Andreeva offers another awkward dilemma for organisers, as her impressive performances on the clay in Paris and Madrid put her in worthy contention for one of eight wild cards on offer.

However, since the war began in Ukraine, none of the Grand Slam tournaments have awarded wild cards to Russian or Belarusian players. Considering the blanket ban imposed by Wimbledon last year, they are highly unlikely to do so.

Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a former top 30 player who has struggled with a number of injuries over the past two years, would be another obvious choice for a wild card.

She is competing at Roland Garros on a protected ranking, and reached the quarter-finals on Sunday, but has run out of protected ranking entries for majors.

She confirmed that she will not be playing at Wimbledon and, when asked whether she might apply for a wild card, Pavlyuchenkova said she assumed Wimbledon would not consider her based on her nationality.

“Are you serious?” she said, laughing. “Do you think after the situation last year they would give me a wildcard this year?”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We treat each application on a case-by-case basis and all applications to enter the UK will be assessed on their merits. Applicants will have to submit their biometrics and undergo thorough checks before permission to enter the UK is granted.”