A Worcestershire MP has welcomed the ban on Russian and Belarusian players at this year’s Wimbledon.

The decision was announced by Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club, on Wednesday.

Sports Minister and Mid Worcestershire MP Nigel Huddleston has supported the move, despite accepting that it may be divisive.

He said: “The UK has taken a leading role internationally to make clear that President Putin must not be able to use sport to legitimise Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.

“Whilst the withdrawal of individual athletes is a complex issue that will divide opinion, there is a bigger cause at stake.

“We have set out our position with sport governing bodies and event organisers and will continue to encourage them to take appropriate action for their sport.”

The decision will see men’s world number two Daniil Medvedev of Russia and women’s world number four Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus omitted from the tournament.

US Open champion Medvedev reached the fourth round of Wimbledon last year, while Sabalenka was a beaten semi-finalist.

Russian world number 15 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka – a two-time Australian Open champion – will also miss out, along with men’s world number eight Andrey Rublev.

The governing bodies of men’s and women’s tennis, ATP and WTA respectively, have criticised the decision

A statement from the ATP read: “We believe that today’s unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year’s British grass-court swing is unfair and has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game.

“Discrimination based on nationality also constitutes a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon that states that player entry is based solely on ATP Rankings.”

Meanwhile, the statement read: “As the WTA has consistently stated, individual athletes should not be penalised or prevented from competing due to where they are from, or the decisions made by the governments of their countries.

“Discrimination, and the decision to focus such discrimination against athletes competing on their own as individuals, is neither fair nor justified.”

Wimbledon is set to take place from Monday, June 27 to Sunday, July 10.