Wimbledon nearing deal with WTA for players to keep half their points from this year's event
WTA
The women's governing body, WTA, is reportedly nearing a resolution with Wimbledon regarding the situation of ranking points, which was the major talking point before the tournament.
In April, the All England Club announced that it had effected a ban on all Russian and Belarusian players from playing this year's tournament. This decision was reached in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Belarus is considered an ally of Russia in the ongoing war.
As a consequence, tennis players from Russia and Belarus are now paying the price for actions taken by their respective governments. Wimbledon noted that allowing the players from the two countries puts the tournament in a bad light as it would be "promoting" the Russian regime.
The decision has elicited mixed reactions from the tennis fraternity. Some sections believe it is justified, and Ukrainian players reckon it's the least that the tournament can do in the current circumstances as tensions continue to rise.
Non-Ukrainian players have voiced their disappointment that politics is now intertwined with sports. This creates room for unfairness and causes division among players, which goes against the principles of inclusivity and integrity in the sport.
That's why the ATP and the WTA, which govern the two tours, were not in alignment with Wimbledon's instance and unanimously decided to strip ranking points from the players at Wimbledon.
In recent days, there have been rumors that several players will boycott the tournament, which has now been reduced, literally, to an exhibition. For instance, players who did well at last year's Wimbledon face a ranking slide regardless of how they perform this year.
Now, the WTA is taking the rumors of a mass boycott of the tournament seriously, as it would be a bad look for them and the tournament. According to the Daily Mail UK, the Women's Tennis Association has spoken to several layers and other stakeholders to at least retain half of their ranking points at Wimbledon.
It remains to be seen whether that will be the case, but the ATP has remained firm in its original decision and will not backtrack on it.
