The ATP and WTA threaten the British Tennis Federation (LTA) to suspend all of its tournaments on the men’s and women’s circuits if Russian and Belarus players, banned from participating in 2022, are not allowed to play them next year, the LTA said on Wednesday.
In addition, the ATP fined the LTA one million dollars (953,000 euros) for the exclusion last summer of Russian and Belarusian players in retaliation for the war in Ukraine. This fine corresponds to a distribution by tranches of 200,000 dollars for the five tournaments concerned (Queen’s, Eastbourne, as well as the Challengers of Surbiton, Nottingham, and Ilkley).
For its part, the WTA imposed a fine of 750,000 dollars on the LTA (for its tournaments in Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne), and one of 250,000 dollars on the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which organizes Wimbledon.
The “deeply disappointed” LTA blames the ATP for its “astonishing lack of empathy for the situation in Ukraine and an obvious lack of understanding of the unique circumstances it faces”.
“We will prepare our response and await the outcome of our appeal against the WTA’s decision and sanction,” the LTA statement added.
For his part, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, accused the British government of going against the Olympic Charter, which guarantees the political neutrality of his institution.
“Making a decision, a political decision about sports competitions is clearly not in line with the resolutions and commitments (of the Charter) and is not in line with the mission of international sport,” the leader said. German on Wednesday following a meeting of the IOC Executive Board in Lausanne.
“Governments should not decide for political reasons who should or should not participate in a particular sporting event,” Bach continued. Participation in sporting events must be based on sporting merit and not on political considerations,” he insisted.
Wimbledon, which is independent of both the ATP and the WTA, has also refused Russian and Belarusian players this year. In response, the ATP and the WTA had decided not to award any ranking points to the Major on grass, which is not affected by the sanctions and fines aimed at the LTA.
