Russia’s Natela Dzalamidze switches nationality to Georgian to play at Wimbledon

Natela Dzalamidze (right) was born in Moscow. Credit: natadzala/ Instagram

A Russian tennis player has changed her nationality to Georgian in order to circumvent Wimbledon’s ban on all competitors from her country.

Natela Dzalamidze, a 29-year-old doubles player, is listed as being from Georgia in Wimbledon's entry for the women's doubles, where she will play with Serbian Aleksandra Krunic in next week's championships.

Dzalamidze, ranked No 44 in the world, was born in Moscow.

In April, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing at Wimbledon due to invasion of Ukraine.

Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to compete at this year's Wimbledon. Credit: PA

The All England Club said under the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships.

On Monday, the AELTC told Reuters news agency that a player's nationality "is an agreed process that is governed by the tours and the International Tennis Federation", adding that it had no involvement in a players' change of nationality.

The ban means stars including world number one, Daniil Medvedev, from Russia, and Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, who is ranked number six in the world, will be unable to compete.

In contrast, Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete at the US Open this year under a neutral flag.

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) supported Wimbledon's actions at the time, despite criticism that it was unfair to apply an outright ban on players who had nothing to do with the invasion.

The men's body, the ATP, said it could "set a damaging precedent for the game", while the women's body, the WTA, said it was "very disappointed".

It prompted Wimbledon to be stripped of its ATP ranking points for 2022, with the ATP saying "the ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental" to the tour.

Wimbledon is due to take place between June 27 to July 10.

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