ATP set to disregard ranking points of Wimbledon and other Grass events in the UK after top players join hands to support Russian counterparts

ATP set to disregard ranking points of Wimbledon and other Grass events in the UK after top players join hands to support Russian counterparts

Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal

The Wimbledon Championships are always one of the most important tournaments on the tennis calendar with the Grand Slam always being a historic event. This year’s edition is however set to be remembered for a long time as it will mark the first time since World War 2 that players based on their nationality will not be allowed to participate.

With Russia not backing out of Ukraine and continuing the war that has been now going on for more than 2 months, the Wimbledon along with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) announced their joint decision to ban all Russian and Belarusian players from playing in all Grass court events in the UK this year including the Grand Slam scheduled in the All-England Club for a fortnight.

The decision has however not been supported by tennis authorities at ATP, WTA and ITF who believe there is no need to ban the players as they have already suspended the tennis federations and the players from the two nations are playing without their country’s flags. Despite this, the Wimbledon and LTA have remained firm on the decision to ban them from playing in their events this year.

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WTA set to join ATP in stripping Wimbledon and other UK events of ranking points

Daniil Medvedev, Victoria Azarenka, Andrey Rublev - All are likely to miss the Wimbledon 2022
Daniil Medvedev, Victoria Azarenka, Andrey Rublev – All are likely to miss the Wimbledon 2022

The Telegraph has however come forward with some surprising details that show a revolt brewing in the tennis fraternity. As per the publication, top-ranked players in the ATP have approached the board with requests to freeze ranking points for all events in the UK this year including the Wimbledon in opposition to the ban on the Russian and Belarusian players.

With both ATP and WTA tours currently playing in the Italian Open and having played in the Madrid Open last week, it has been understood that the two bodies had joint meetings to take a strong stand against the Wimbledon ban and a final decision might come soon. With ATP and WTA sharing common viewpoints on the subject, one can expect a joint statement as well.

The ATP Tour has two tournaments scheduled in the UK prior to the Championships, the ATP-500 event at the Queen’s Club and the ATP-250 event in Eastbourne that will conclude 2 days prior to the commencement of Wimbledon, with the Grand Slam starting on 27th June. On the WTA Tour, two WTA-250 events in Nottingham and Birmingham followed by a WTA-500 event in Eastbourne are scheduled.

If the ATP and WTA do indeed declare that ranking points will be freezer, the Wimbledon will become the highest paying exhibition event for all participating players as their results won’t have an impact on their ranks and they will instead be just getting paid by the prestigious tournament. With 6 more weeks to go for the Championships to begin in the UK, a decision is expected soon from all involved parties.

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