Joe GallopThe All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said it will donate more than £500,000 from this year’s Wimbledon Championships ticket sales to relief efforts in Ukraine.
One pound for each ticket sold will go towards Ukraine, while the AELTC will also give free accommodation to Ukrainian players during the grass-court season and access to practice courts, as well as welcome 1,000 refugees from the country to the tournament.
The news comes after AELTC announced it would allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete at this year’s tournament as neutral athletes, having banned them last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On allowing Russian and Belarusian players to complete again, AELTC chairman Ian Hewitt said, “It was a difficult and challenging decision, which was made with the full support of our UK Government and the international stakeholder bodies in tennis, but does not lessen in any way our total condemnation of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“We will again work with Merton and Wandsworth Councils, and the British Red Cross, to invite 1,000 Ukrainian refugees to join us for a day at Wimbledon, including tickets, food and drink, and transport.”
The 136th edition of the Wimbledon Championships takes place from 3-16 July.