Wimbledon will not implement COVID-19 vaccine requirements for players, tournament organizers announced Tuesday.
“The requirements set up do not include mandatory vaccination,” All England Club CEO Sally Bolton said in a press conference. “It will not be a condition of entry for the championships this year.”
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam with a vaccine mandate still in place. Vaccine passports will not be mandatory for the French Open, set to kick off on May 22.
Wimbledon becomes the latest Grand Slam to lift its vaccine requirement. The Australian Open is the only major tournament remaining with COVID restrictions. pic.twitter.com/5qSeCP6P1P— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) April 26, 2022
Wimbledon becomes the latest Grand Slam to lift its vaccine requirement. The Australian Open is the only major tournament remaining with COVID restrictions. pic.twitter.com/5qSeCP6P1P
As of January, 85 percent of the top 100 women players are vaccinated per the WTA’s figures, according to the BBC.
No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka made waves last year when she expressed hesitancy to get vaccinated due to her concern about the speed at which the COVID vaccines were produced. But Sabalenka told reporters in November that she had gotten vaccinated following a bout with COVID-19 in October, which bounced her from the 2021 Indian Wells tournament.
Sabalenka, however, will not be permitted to compete in this year’s Wimbledon due to the tournament’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players. The move comes after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarus’ support of the invasion. Fellow Belarusian No. 17 Victoria Azarenka and five Russian women in the top 40 world rankings will also be impacted.
Wimbledon is scheduled to start on June 27.