Without ATP and WTA points, the Wimbledon tournament turns into a simple tennis exhibition – Liberation

The two associations managing the professional tennis circuits have decided not to distribute points during the tournament due to the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players.

The ATP, which manages the men’s professional tennis circuit, and the WTA, its counterpart for the women’s circuit, will not distribute any points at the next Wimbledon tournament if the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players due to the war in Ukraine is maintained.

This decision made “unwillingly” with regard to what is considered the biggest tournament in the world should have cascading consequences on the rankings of the best players.

Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, UEFA, Fifa, the International Federations of Swimming, Athletics, Gymnastics, Rugby, Volleyball, Basketball and many others have quickly decided to follow the recommendation at the end of February from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to totally ban Russians and Belarusians from sports competitions. The International Tennis Federation, the ATP and the WTA took a little longer before deciding on the matter.

The Wimbledon tournament announced at the end of April its intention to exclude Russians and Belarusians from its 2022 edition because of the war in Ukraine, “an unjustified and unprecedented military aggression”. For the management of Wimbledon, “it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefit from the participation of Russian or Belarusian players”.

If this decision is not reviewed before the end of June, Wimbledon could become the most prestigious tennis exhibition this summer. Friday evening, the organizers of the tournament, scheduled this year between June 27 and July 10, reaffirmed that they were sticking to their position, denouncing decisions “disproportionate” et «harmful for all the players present on the circuit” taken by the authorities of world tennis.

The ATP, which accepts Russian and Belarusian players under a neutral banner, repeated on Friday that the position of the Wimbledon tournament “challenged” the principle of fairness between players as well as “the integrity of the ranking system”.

The Wimbledon decision was very badly received by the vast majority of the tennis world who see it as a political gesture and, like Rafael Nadal, “very unfair”. “To say that I am disappointed with the ATP would be an understatement, reacted former Ukrainian player Serhiy Stakhovsky, who returned to his country to fight. I would never have expected anyone to choose the side of invaders and murderers.”

Britain’s Daniel Evans, the world’s 32nd player, told the BBC: “I think the majority of players think it’s not ideal that the others (the Russians and Belarusians, editor’s note) cannot play but there should be points at stake at Wimbledon”.