Wimbledon ranking points to be reinstated? Officials to meet ATP and WTA to find ‘better options’
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Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev
Wimbledon’s top administrators are reportedly planning a trip to the French Open to start negotiations about resolving the current dispute about the lack of ranking points available at the All England Club this year. Owing to the prohibition on Russian and Belarusian players competing at SW19 due to the ongoing military situation in Ukraine, the ATP and WTA have stated that no points will be awarded at the tournament, which is set to begin next month.
Wimbledon will basically become an exhibition event due to the current state of affairs, with a number of top players already expressing their dissatisfaction with the lack of ranking motivation to compete later this year. According to the Daily Mail, tournament organisers will travel to Paris for showdown talks to reach a settlement that is acceptable to all parties concerned.
Wimbledon chief to negotiate terms with ATP and WTA
There is said to be a glimmer of hope that a resolution can be negotiated but any new outcome will not see Russian and Belarusian players given the all-clear to compete at Wimbledon, while any suggestion that a reduction in prize money will be used as a bargaining tool is said to be completely groundless. Temporary reintroduction of the grass-court seeding formula has already been discussed, which would incentivise players by using this year’s results to help determine entries and draws for 2023.
The renewal of the ranking point agreement between the ATP and Wimbledon at the end of the year could be another area of debate. There is a possibility that the Grand Slam tournaments could split apart to establish their own system and play hardball in the process, a trend that could lead to a slew of new problems down the road. It remains to be seen whether Wimbledon chiefs will be able to successfully find a compromise when talks begin over the current situation, which has sparked fury from a number of male and female players on the Tour in recent weeks.
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Pritha Ghosh
(414 Articles Published)