Wimbledon have ranking points STRIPPED as ATP and WTA tours cite ‘discrimination’ of Russian and Belarusian player ban
TENNIS stars at next month’s Wimbledon Championships will receive NO ranking points for playing after an unprecedented combined decision by the ATP, WTA and ITF.
Russian and Belarussian nationals have been banned from competing at Wimbledon because tennis chiefs do not want to “benefit the propaganda machine” of Vladimir Putin’s murderous regime.
The All England Club are declining entries from those two countries to take part at SW19 due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
It means the likes of world No2 Daniil Medvedev and top Belarus female players Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka are barred from playing on UK grass in June and July.
Tonight, the ATP – the governing body of men’s tennis – reacted by saying they would strip the prestigious Slam of all its ranking points.
The ITF have also confirmed they will not grant points to its juniors and wheelchair tennis events in South-West London.
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Then the WTA, which looks after the interests of the women's circuit, also confirmed they have adopted the same policy as the ATP and will not award rankings points to its members who play at Wimbledon.
Ranking points will remain in place for the LTA-run tournaments at Queen’s and Eastbourne – though the British sporting body might be heavily fined for adopting the same suspension as Wimbledon.
In a statement, the ATP said: “The ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental to our Tour.
“The decision by Wimbledon to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the UK this summer undermines this principle and the integrity of the ATP Ranking system.
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“It is also inconsistent with our Rankings agreement.
“Absent a change in circumstances, it is with great regret and reluctance that we see no option but to remove ATP Ranking points from Wimbledon for 2022.
“Our rules and agreements exist in order to protect the rights of players as a whole.
“Unilateral decisions of this nature, if unaddressed, set a damaging precedent for the rest of the Tour.
“Discrimination by individual tournaments is simply not viable on a Tour that operates in more than 30 countries.
“We greatly value our long-standing relationships with Wimbledon and the LTA and do not underestimate the difficult decisions faced in responding to recent UK Government guidance.
“However, we note that this was informal guidance, not a mandate, which offered an alternative option that would have left the decision in the hands of individual players competing as neutral athletes through a signed declaration.
“Our internal discussions with affected players in fact led us to conclude this would have been a more agreeable option for the Tour.
“We remain hopeful of further discussions with Wimbledon leading to an acceptable outcome for all concerned.
“More broadly, we believe this matter again highlights the need for a united governance structure across professional tennis so that decisions of this nature can be made in a joint manner.”
'ABANDON FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE'
WTA CEO Steve Simon said: “We believe that individual athletes participating in an individual sport shouldn’t be penalised or prevented from competing solely because of their nationalities or the decisions made by the governments of their countries.
“As a result of the AELTC’s position, the WTA has made the difficult decision to not award WTA ranking points for this year’s Wimbledon Championships.
“The stance we are taking is about protecting the equal opportunities that WTA players should have to compete as individuals.
“If we do not take this stance, then we abandon our fundamental principle and allow the WTA to become an example to support discrimination based on nationality at other events and in other regions around the world.
“The WTA will continue to apply its rules to reject such discrimination.”
Dan Evans, the British No2, said: “I think there should be ranking points, but obviously a very touchy subject to go into.
If we're sticking it solely on tennis and not politics there should be points for Wimbledon
Dan Evans
“We should be playing for ranking points at Wimbledon and it will be disappointing for me as a Brit if we're not.
“I think the majority of the players think it is not ideal the other players can’t play but there should still be points at Wimbledon.
“In my opinion, they are only trying to protect the Russian players by not letting them play.
“If we're sticking it solely on tennis and not politics there should be points for Wimbledon.”
Wimbledon responded: "We wish to state our deep disappointment at the decisions taken by the ATP, WTA and ITF in removing ranking points for The Championships.
"We believe these decisions to be disproportionate in the context of the exceptional and extreme circumstances of this situation and the position we found ourselves in, and damaging to all players who compete on Tour.
"We are considering our options, and we are reserving our position at this stage. We are also in discussion with our Grand Slam colleagues."
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: "The international sporting community rightly moved quickly and came together to condemn Putin's illegal and barbaric actions in Ukraine.
"Given the importance of sport and cultural bodies in making the Russian Government an international pariah, we stand squarely behind the decision that Wimbledon and the LTA have taken to stand up for what is right.
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"We deeply regret today's decision and urge the ATP, WTA and the ITF to consider their stance on ranking points at the Championships.
"It does not send the right message to either Putin or the people of Ukraine."