The Russian woman found a way to cope with the ban imposed by the Wimbledon tennis tournament on Russians and Belarusians due to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine by changing her citizenship to a Georgian, according to a report published by British newspaper The Times. .

The World No. 44-year-old Natila Dzalamidze (doubles player), 29, could face Serbian Aleksandra Krunic in women’s doubles when the third major tournament begins on June 27. The All-England Club, the organizers of Wimbledon, in April decided to ban the involvement of Russians and Belarusians in connection with the military operation, which means the absence of top players and players led by the world’s first racket Daniil Medvedev, his compatriot Andrei Rublev, Belarusian Arina Sobolenko and the his compatriot Victoria Azarenka. But a spokesman for the All England Club told the Times newspaper that the organizers of the English Championship could not interfere with Dzalamidze’s change of citizenship, as it was an issue related to the powers of the WTA and International Tennis. Federation (ITF) and the player has met the eligibility requirements. “A player’s nationality, determined based on the flag they have played in professional competition, is an agreed process governed by tournaments (such as the ATP and WTA) and the International Tennis Federation,” the spokesperson said.
The ATP and WTA associations were unhappy with Wimbledon’s decision to remove the Russians and Belarusians and responded to it in May by suspending the distribution of tournament ranking points. The professional league considered the English championship decision “unfair”, and the WTA considered it a “form of discrimination”, expressing “great disappointment”. Unlike Wimbledon, the US championship organizers decided to allow Russians and Belarusians to participate, but under a neutral flag, which would give Medvedev a chance to defend the title he won last year in cost of Serbian Novak Djokovic.