ATP strips Wimbledon of their ranking points this year due to ban of Russian & Belarussian players

| by Drew Tate

The ATP has officially done what they said they would and that is stripping Wimbledon of its ranking points this year making it essentially an exhibition event.

Obviously, the event will survive as the prestige of the event speaks volumes but it is a hit to the event that elected to ban Russian and Belarussian players due to the Invasion of Ukraine. The decision was backed by the LTA (UK's tennis governing body) as well as the British government. It was widely condemned by many players including Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and the Russian players as well.

The decision was upheld and forced ATP to react with the official decision coming not long ago. WTA did not follow ATP officially yet although they said they would. Time will tell if they do. Novak Djokovic famously spoke out against this move saying there were better ways to react. The statement reads:

"There are better solutions than boycott" says Novak Djokovic about Wimbledon
"There are better solutions than boycott" says Novak Djokovic about Wimbledon

"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," said the statement released by the ATP. Absent a change in circumstances, it's with great regret and reluctance that we see no option but to remove ATP Ranking points from Wimbledon for 2022. 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."

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"It's very upsetting" - Medvedev breaks silence on War in Ukraine

"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."

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