Sloane Stephens has backed the WTA's ruling to remove the ranking points from Wimbledon 2022 after the All England Club's event organizers decided to ban Russian and Belarusian competitors.
After weeks of deliberation, the WTA joined the ATP in stripping Wimbledon of its ranking points for this season. This ruling followed the All England Club's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian male and female players from the 2022 competition in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
The controversial decision from the SW19 event organizers has caused divisions amongst players, with several high-profile players, such as Rafael Nadal, saying the ban is unfair.
However, others, including Ukrainian players like Dayana Yastremska, have supported the ban against players from the two nations. Ultimately, the latest news of the esteemed Grand Slam tournament losing its ranking points will cause more controversy and opinion among players.
One of the latest players to speak out about the event losing its ranking points was American Stephens, who said she supported her fellow competitors in the ban and also agreed with the WTA's ruling to suspend points from Wimbledon.
"I think the (WTA's) decision that was taken was the correct one. I think that there is a lot of things that happened behind the scenes and I think there has been a lot of mishandling of how everything was handled. We will just go from there."
"Obviously I support our CEO, I support my council, I support the players. The decision that's been taken obviously wasn't taken lightly. I think when you are backed into a corner and that's all you can do, I think that's why the decision was made, and I support it. I think when you look at the principles and what our Tour stands for, discrimination will never be tolerated."
Several top-level WTA and ATP stars will not feature at SW19 this season as a result of the All England Club's ban. The likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka, Daniil Medvedev, and Andrey Rublev will be absent from this year's grasscourt Grand Slam.
However, even though the ranking points will not be awarded to the players at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, the leading competitors will still likely head to London and battle for the major title.
The women's draw will see a new title holder this year after reigning champion Ashleigh Barty suddenly retired in March, while Novak Djokovic will look to defend his men's title for a fourth consecutive season.
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