"Do they defend the players or Russia" - Paire slams ATP for stripping Wimbledon of points
ATP
Benoit Paire has openly criticized the ATP for its decision to remove the points from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, stating that the choice goes against the players' views.
French player Paire, who spoke after his Roland Garros first-round loss to Ilya Ivashka, is the latest player to outline his views on the points-stripping debate. Other high-profile tennis players have also shared their opinions on Wimbledon losing its point for 2022, with Denis Shapovalov agreeing that the points should have remained for the major competition.
The ATP decided to remove Wimbledon points for the 2022 competition after the All England Club stated that Russian and Belarusian players would not be able to compete at the Grand Slam this year.
This decision followed other international sporting bodies, who banned athletes from the two nations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Following the ATP's decision, players will not receive the standard 2,000 points for winning the Wimbledon Grand Slam title, prompting concerns that this would put top players off from entering the tournament.
However, Paire criticized the ATP's ruling and said the act did not reflect the views and considerations of the players.
"I will go to Wimbledon to get my prize money, as I would for an exhibition tournament. This is why I wanted to talk with you guys. Because we are going to play a tournament without any points."
"When some people had Covid, we didn't say, Oh, okay, we should cancel the tournament altogether. But then we have three or four Russian players, including Medvedev, and we are rallying against Wimbledon."
"I think it's a pity, because if we were to listen to all the players, players do not understand this decision. 99 per cent of players, they want to have points and to play the tournament as it was before. So I want to know if ATP wants to defend players or Russia."
There has been no confirmed list of players who will compete at SW19 for the Wimbledon title this year. However, under current rules and decisions, some top-level players, including Danill Medvedev and Andrey Rublev would not be allowed to compete at the grass-court major in 2022.
Currently, Novak Djokovic is the reigning champion after the Serbian player lifted his second Wimbledon title in 2021 - beating Matteo Berrettini in last year's final. As yet, it is unclear even if Djokovic will return to Wimbledon in 2022 to defend his title.
