Wimbledon defends Russian, Belarusian ban amid WTA and ATP penalties

The
season’s
third
major
will
not
have
any
ranking
points
after
tennis’ governing
bodies
decided
to
punish
the
grand
slam’s
organisers
for
banning
Russian
and
Belarusian
athletes.

That
decision
from
the
All
England
Club
was
made
in
the
wake
of
Russia’s
invasion
of
Ukraine.

However,
Wimbledon’s
organisers
have
now
hit
out
at
the
three
governing
bodies.

A
statement
began:
“Given
the
position
taken
by
the
UK
government
to
limit
Russia’s
global
influence,
which
removed
automatic
entry
by
ranking,
and
the
widespread
response
of
government,
industry,
sport
and
creative
institutions,
we
remain
of
the
view
that
we
have
made
the
only
viable
decision
for
Wimbledon
as
a
globally
renowned
sporting
event
and
British
institution,
and
we
stand
by
the
decision
we
have
made.

Statement
regarding
ATP
/
WTA
/
ITF
ranking
points
at
The
Championships
2022.

—
Wimbledon
(@Wimbledon)

May
20,
2022

“We
were
not
prepared
to
take
any
actions
that
could
risk
the
personal
safety
of
players
or
their
families.
We
believe
that
requiring
written
declarations
from
individual
players
–
and
that
would
apply
to
all
relevant
players
–
as
a
condition
of
entry
in
the
high-profile
circumstances
of
Wimbledon
would
carry
significant
scrutiny
and
risk.

“In
addition,
we
remain
unwilling
to
accept
success
or
participation
at
Wimbledon
being
used
to
benefit
the
propaganda
machine
of
the
Russian
regime,
which,
through
its
closely
controlled
State
media,
has
an
acknowledged
history
of
using
sporting
success
to
support
a
triumphant
narrative
to
the
Russian
people.

“We
therefore
wish
to
state
our
deep
disappointment
at
the
decisions
taken
by
the
ATP,
WTA
and
ITF
in
removing
ranking
points
for
the
championships.
We
believe
these
decisions
to
be
disproportionate
in
the
context
of
the
exceptional
and
extreme
circumstances
of
this
situation
and
the
position
we
found
ourselves
in,
and
damaging
to
all
players
who
compete
on
Tour.”

The
statement
added
that
the
All
England
Club
was
“considering
[its]
options”
while
also
communicating
with
organisers
of
the
other
grand
slams.