Wimbledon has welcomed 1,000 refugees from the local borough to attend the first ten days of the 2023 Championships.
As part of a partnership with the humanitarian aid charity, the British Red Cross, the All England Club provided tickets, food, drink and transportation to the 1,000 attendees, which included some displaced from Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February 2022.
In addition, the All England Club donated £1 for every spectator who attended Wimbledon this year to support the British Cross' work in Ukraine, which totalled £412,132. Chairman of the All England Club, Ian Hewitt, was pleased to welcome the refugees to Wimbledon and expressed his pleasure at the amount raised to support the Red Cross in an official statement.
"It's a pleasure to welcome refugees from across our local boroughs and beyond to experience a day at Wimbledon, and we hope it's truly a memorable occasion for all. We remain committed to doing all we can to support those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine, and I'm delighted that we're able to make another significant donation to vital humanitarian efforts from this year's Championships.'
The free tickets and donations were part of a wider commitment by the All England Club to support people affected by the war in Ukraine. Players were also helped as all Ukranian main draw entrants and qualifiers had their accommodation costs covered by the All England Club for the entirety of grass court season in 2023, while the organisation and the Lawn Tennis Association offered the Surbiton courts for practice leading up to Wimbledon
Despite the work by Wimbledon to support Ukranian players, and refugees affected by the war, the tournament has not gone by without controversy on the court. Most notably, Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka was booed off the court following her defeat against Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina in the round of 16.
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