Wimbledon’s decision not to let Russian and Belarusian tennis players compete due to the war in Ukraine and the ATP’s subsequent response to this decision by announcing that no points will be awarded at Wimbledon still continues to generate controversy among tennis players on the circuit.
One of the most affected is the Italian Matteo Berrettini, finalist last year at Wimbledon, who sees how this year he will not be able to score points whatever he does but how he will lose the 1,200 achieved last year after staying at the gates of the title (Djokovic will lose 2,000 as champion).
In the press conference prior to his participation in the Queen’s Tournament, the Italian tennis player criticized the measure taken by the ATP, which he described as unfair. “It is a very difficult situation to handle for everyone. First of all, people are suffering in Ukraine. In my case it’s also complicated because I played very well on grass and it doesn’t matter how well I play this year. My ranking will drop, and I think that’s unfair. If the ranking worked normally, the more and better you play, the better your ranking will be. I think this was removed, and I don’t agree with it.”
As if this were not enough, Berrettini assured that this decision was taken by the ATP unilaterally, without asking the players for their opinion. “Nobody contacted us, nobody asked us for our opinion and I think that should not be done like that. Maybe we should do something to avoid these kinds of decisions because I think it’s the biggest decision the ATP has made in the last 20 years.”
