The governing body of professional tournaments even threatened to withdraw its support from the Queen’s and Eastbourne tournaments, the two previous events to the maximum event on grass.
The decision of Wimbledon to exclude Russian and Belarusian players from its 2022 edition, as part of the sanctions for the invasion and the war in Ukraine (which also applied to the other grass tour events played in Great Britain), cost the club dearly. british tennis. To the fine that the WTA in July, in full tournament; Now added a greater punishment by the men’s circuit. Is that the ATP reported an economic sanction of one million dollars for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA, the federation that governs the sport in that country), which was accompanied by a warning: if you do not change your position for the 2023 edition, you could lose the tournaments of Queen’s y Eastbournethe two events prior to the English Grand Slam that it organizes each year.
The announcement hit hard in the All England, which is considering revoking the ban for next season. According to the newspaper The TelegraphAlthough a resolution has not yet been made, some members of the club’s hierarchy consider that it is not a good idea to maintain the position, which generated a lot of controversy and criticism from fans, players and other members of the tennis world.
The British Major was held from June 27 to July 10 and did not distribute points for the world rankings, as a result of a forceful response from the ATP and WTA to the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament, which they considered ” discriminatory”.
It is worth remembering that the rackets from those countries were able to play the rest of the tournaments on the calendar, although they did so under a neutral flag, by decision of the three entities that govern world tennis. But the English Grand Slam, independent of those associations, took the punishment further, following the recommendations of the British government.
For example, Novak Djokovic he could not defend the 2,000 points he had won in 2020 when he was crowned champion, despite having repeated the performance of the previous season on the English pitch, where he added his 21st Major.
Days after the start of the tournament, the women’s tennis association fined the LTA and All England $750,000 and $250,000, respectively, for banning the Russian and Belarusian women from tournaments held on British soil (in addition to the Grand Slam, the Eastbourne Pageants, Nottingham y Birmingham). The sanction was appealed by the British federation.
This Wednesday, after knowing the new punishment, the LTA accused the ATP of “lack of empathy”.
“The LTA is deeply disappointed with this result,” he said in a statement. “The ATP has shown no acknowledgment of the exceptional circumstances created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine or the international sports community and the UK Government’s response to that invasion.”
He continued: “The ATP appears to view this matter as a direct breach of its rules, with a surprising lack of empathy for the situation in Ukraine and a clear lack of understanding of the unique circumstances facing the LTA. This fine, like that of the WTA, will have a material impact on the LTA’s ability to develop and host tennis in this country. We will carefully consider our response and await the outcome of our appeal against the WTA’s decision and sanction.”
The All England would revoke the exclusion
Michelle Donelan, Britain’s Culture Secretary, also criticized the punishments imposed by the ATP and WTA, which she considered a “wrong decision”, and urged the bodies to “reconsider” them. At the same time, she ratified the position of the government of that country on the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“We are clear that sport cannot be used to legitimize this deadly invasion and that athletes representing the Russian or Belarusian states should be prohibited from competing in other countries,” he said in a statement.
But, despite this official position, in the All England they are seriously considering the possibility of lifting the sanction by 2023, because they consider that the ban is no longer sustainable and “they fear that applying it for the second consecutive year will condition them for the future, if the war in Ukraine spreads”, according to The Telegraph.
On the other hand, the fact that, throughout the season, no demonstrations in favor of the war or the Putin regime have been seen in any tournament, despite the constant presence of Russian and Belarusian players in the draws, brings peace of mind to the English club.
It is that one of the reasons for the exclusion had been the fear that the Grand Slam framework would be used to make “propaganda” in favor of the Russian government, as happened with the gymnast Ivan Kuliak in the Doha Apparatus World Cup in March.
The sanctions and warnings from the WTA and the ATP seem to have taken effect and, although there is still no official confirmation, Wimbledon would open the door again for tennis players from Russia and Belarus next year.
