Controversial Russian player ban removes all Wimbledon ranking points

Wimbledon’s men’s ATP and women’s WTA tour have snatched its ranking points due to the decision to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from the 2022 Championship due to Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has also stated that it will not award ranking points at this year’s Wimbledon for junior and wheelchair tennis events.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which runs Wimbledon, has expressed “deep frustration” and said it was “considering their options”.

Tennis regulators have banned Russia and Belarus from international competition since the attack, but have allowed players from both countries to continue competing as neutrals.

“The ability of players of any nationality to enter the tournament on the basis of merit and without discrimination is fundamental to our tour,” the ATP said on Friday.

“Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the UK this summer undermines this policy and the integrity of the ATP ranking system. This is inconsistent with our ranking agreement.

WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said: “About 50 years ago, WTA was founded on the basic principle that all players have equal opportunity to compete on the basis of merit and without discrimination.

“The WTA believes that individual athletes participating in a particular sport should not be penalized or barred from competing solely because of their nationality or the decisions made by the government of their country.”

These measures effectively reduced the world’s most famous tennis tournament to an exhibition event, albeit with significant prestige and prize money.

AELTC Response: “We appreciate that the decision to deny entry to this year’s Championship differs from that of the Russian and Belarusian players, and we deeply regret the impact of this decision on the victims.”

“However, the position taken by the UK government to limit Russia’s global influence, which has removed automatic access by ranking, and the widespread response from government, industry, sports and creative organizations, is that we are the only ones who have done so. The decision for Wimbledon as a world-renowned sporting event and British institution and we are adamant in the decision we have made.

“So we want to express our deep frustration with the decision taken by ATP, WTA and ITF to remove the ranking points for the championship.

“We believe that these decisions are in the context of this exceptional and extreme situation and that we find ourselves in a position that is detrimental to all the players competing on the tour.

“We are considering our options, and we are preserving our position at this stage. We’re talking to our Grand Slam teammates. “

The most notable of the banned players, Russian World No. 2 Daniel Medvedev, said on Friday that he would not take the ELTC to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to compete.

“I’m not a lawyer … If I can’t play I won’t go to court for it,” Medvedev said.

Russian football authorities have gone to the CAS to argue against a ban on football teams.