"It was a mistake" - John McEnroe opens up on Wimbledon ban

| by Drew Tate

John McEnroe did not hold back during the Eurosports Roland Garros show where he engaged with Tim Henman over Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarussian players.

When asked about it, McEnroe went off about the decision saying:

“I think it was a mistake by Wimbledon to do what they did, and it’s compounded by the fact the ATP and the WTA say there are no points. I don’t see how that helps the players."

He then continued true to his style:

“If the players really believe that Wimbledon made a big mistake by not allowing Russian and Belarusian players to play then they should have boycotted the tournament [like in 1973 when Nikola Pilic was not allowed to play and most of the players opted out in protest]."

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"Very unfair"- Tomljanovic speaks out against Wimbledon points stripping

Henman offered perspective on the decision as a British citizen living on the island:

“The reality of the situation is there are no winners and I feel enormous sympathy for the Russian and Belarusian players that cannot play. When you go through the circumstances presented to Wimbledon, the directive from the government is players are not allowed to play as neutral athletes, like on the tour at the moment, so the question in return is are Wimbledon expected to turn around, given their status in the UK, and say to the government actually we think we know better so will do something different?”

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McEnroe responded with an emphatic 'Yes, I would do that.'

Henman countered:

“That’s not going to happen John, so the next question is are you going to get the players to sign a declaration against the government in Russia and the war and the regime?”

McEnroe clapped back:

“If you are a Russian or Belarusian player and your parents and family live in Russia and they have a new law that says they can spend 15 years in prison if they say there is even a war going on or say anything negative about what’s happening, would you say anything if you were Daniil Medvedev or Andrey Rublev or Victoria Azarenka or Aryna Sabalenka? They are in a hell of a bind.

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"I think we'll see a lot of top players not playing" - Norrie on Wimbledon without points

Henman finished off with:

"Wimbledon are not going to jeopardise the safety of their players or their families, and that’s before you talk about the propaganda of a Russian or Belarusian player receiving the trophy on Centre Court potentially in the second week. The first two options are horrific and the third option is you don’t invite Russian and Belarusian players and that’s not much fun."

McEnroe then followed up with:

"It's a lose-lose situation for everybody."

The panel then switched subjects.

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