Russians and Belarusians taking part in this year's Wimbledon include a tennis player who spreads propaganda about Ukraine and a favourite of Lukashenko — Molfar Global investigation
Among the Russians and Belarusians who will take part in this year's Wimbledon tennis tournament are Anastasia Gasanova, who spread propaganda about Ukraine, and Lukashenko's favourite tennis player Aryna Sabalenka.
This is stated in an investigation by the OSINT community Molfar Global.
This year, Belarusian and Russian tennis players were allowed to participate in Wimbledon if they:
▪️ remain neutral;
▪️ do not express support for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine;
▪️ do not receive financial rewards from the state apparatuses of Russia and Belarus.
Anastasia Gasanova believes that the Trade Union Building in Odesa was allegedly set on fire by pro-Ukrainian activists, the Russian language was banned at the state level in Ukraine, and the Azov militants allegedly seized power in Ukraine.
Gasanova is also a co-founder of the Saratov Regional Public Physical Culture and Saratov Region Tennis Federation sports organisation. In this organisation, she cooperates with a former United Russia deputy.
Among the Belarusian athletes participating in the tournament is Aryna Sabalenka. She has been publicly supported by self-proclaimed Belarusian President Lukashenka. She had at least two personal appointments with him, and in 2019, she said that Lukashenka was a member of her sports team. In 2023, Sabalenka said she did not care about Lukashenka's comments and that she was not involved in politics. The tennis player is in a relationship with former Belarusian hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, who signed a so-called "pro-government letter" during the 2020 mass protests in Belarus calling for an end to political campaigning. Koltsov also supported the Russian military.
Another athlete participating in the tournament is Daniil Medvedev, who claims to be "committed to peace" but avoids the topic of war.
In 2019, Medvedev signed a sponsorship contract with Tinkoff Bank. In 2021, his income from the bank amounted to $305,000. In May 2023, no bank-related activity was detected in Daniil's account. In April 2023, Medvedev announced that he had abandoned his sponsors from Russia. However, investigators have not found any factual evidence of this.
Karen Khachanov, who is involved with influential people in Russia and Belarus, is also taking part in the tournament. His sponsorship is based on a contract with VTB Bank, which has been under EU sanctions since 2014. And since 2022, it has been on the US sanctions list. This bank is also a sponsor of the ATP/WTA tennis tournament held in Moscow. The same financial institution also sponsors Russian volleyball and gymnastics teams and other sports organisations.
Khachanov's uncle is Aleksandr Zayonts, a businessman and founder of the Hoff furniture chain in Russia and the Hoff Tech IT company.
