Russia's Daniil Medvedev, now in the French Open third round, wants to play at Wimbledon if it lifts its ban on Russian and Belarusian players ©Getty Images

Russia’s former world number one Daniil Medvedev has reiterated his desire to play at Wimbledon, even if no ranking points are involved, if the current ban is lifted by the All England Club.

The Wimbledon organisers recently announced they would not allow Russian or Belarusian players to compete in the third Grand Slam tournament of the year on account of the invasion of Ukraine.

That led the governing bodies, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), who are not in favour of such bans, to announce there would be no ranking points available at Wimbledon as not all ranked players were being allowed to compete.

That has led to this year’s Wimbledon Championships being characterised by some within the game as an exhibition tournament, albeit one with huge prize money and a historic value.

Both the ATP and WTA have allowed players from Russia and Belarus to continue playing following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, albeit under a neutral flag.

Wimbledon is the only major tournament to have opted for a different path, and claimed it did so following United Kingdom Government guidance.

Officials argued that any success by Russians or Belarusians would aid the "propaganda machine" of both regimes and said it had to ensure the safety of players and their families.

Wimbledon's All England Club is standing firm on its ban of Russian and Belarusian players over the Ukraine invasion, but if it changes its mind Russia's former world number one Daniil Medvedev wants to play at SW19 this year ©Getty Images
Wimbledon's All England Club is standing firm on its ban of Russian and Belarusian players over the Ukraine invasion, but if it changes its mind Russia's former world number one Daniil Medvedev wants to play at SW19 this year ©Getty Images

Some players have already indicated they may skip the event but Medvedev, who announced in February as Russian forces began to move in on Ukraine that he was "all for peace" says he would be glad to play in SW19 with or without ranking points.

"They have to, you know, communicate to other players, yeah, about what they are doing," the Russian said in response to being told meetings are set to take place at Roland Garros this week as the French Open takes place.

"I think it's a tricky situation.

"When the ATP announced it, I was, like, 'Okay, it's official'.

"Right now I don't know what's going to happen.

"You know, my main job is to play tennis, try to get points here as much as I can.

"Again, I'm going to repeat again, if I can play Wimbledon I will be happy to be there, even without points.

“With points, I will be happy to be there and try to get some points.

"If I cannot play I'm going to stay home, practice hard and try to be better for my next tournaments."

Medvedev, seeded second at Roland Garros, beat Laslo Djere in straight sets yesterday to set up a third round match with another Serbian in Miomir Kecmanovic.