The British tennis association LTA was fined one million dollars (about 23 million crowns) by the men’s tennis organization ATP for banning Russian and Belarusian tennis players from the start of this year’s tournaments before Wimbledon due to the invasion of Ukraine. The Lawn Tennis Association announced this in a press release.
“We are deeply disappointed by this. According to the ATP, the invasion of Ukraine is not a serious enough situation and it also did not recognize the position of the sports community and the British government,” LTA said. ATP officials have also warned her that she could lose her membership of the men’s association if she makes the same move next year.
The British association was fined $200,000 for each of the five grass-court tournaments it hosted before Wimbledon: the elite tour tournaments at Queen’s Club and Eastbourne and three challengers. According to the ATP, the ban was an unfair decision that could set a dangerous precedent.
Already in the summer, the LTA was fined by the women’s organization WTA for the same measure concerning Russian and Belarusian tennis players. The LTA was to pay $750,000 for their exclusion from three tournaments.
Tennis players from Russia and Belarus were not even allowed to compete in Wimbledon, where they were not invited by the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The ATP and WTA responded by not awarding world ranking points for the famous tournament. All four Grand Slams are played under the auspices of the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
British Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan defended the LTA. “Sport cannot be abused to legitimize a deadly attack, therefore the Russian and Belarusian representatives must be banned from competing in other countries,” Reuters quoted her as saying.
“And although the entire world condemned the invasion, both tennis circuits see it differently. This is a bad step by the ATP and WTA. Their management should think carefully about the signal they are sending and reconsider their position,” said Donelanová.
A previous version of the article incorrectly stated that Wimbledon organizers received the fine.
