As the world of tennis and its celebrity entourage descend on south-west London for this year’s Wimbledon Championships, the talk of the town will be a player who is not even there.  

Daniil Medvedev, the current men’s number one, will not be participating following the decision to bar Russian players. The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which runs the tournament that starts on Monday, said it had been left with little choice following guidance from the UK government “to limit Russia’s global influence” after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

That decision has divided international tennis, with many top players voicing their displeasure. Novak Djokovic said it was “wrong”, Rafael Nadal, called it “very unfair”, while Andy Murray said he was “not supportive” of the move.