“What an embarrassment, the fact that Rybakina would have been somewhere around #5 in the world & is still 23 & Jabeur went from 2 to 5 is just ridiculous” - Rennae Stubbs on lack of ranking points at Wimbledon

The curtains are down on the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, with Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina crowned the men’s and women’s champions. However, the furore surrounding the lack of ranking points at SW19 is yet to subside.

Ahead of the tournament, organizers pointed to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the grass Slam. In response, the ATP and WTA jointly decided to remove ranking points from the Major, essentially making it an exhibition event.

Rybakina gained no reward for her first Grand Slam title and remained 23rd in the rankings. Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who finished as the runner-up, dropped three places to fifth after losing the 430 points she collected for her quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon last year.

Former World No. 1 Rennae Stubbs took to Twitter to give her thoughts on what she termed a "ridiculous decision."

“Looking at the current rankings without the Wimbledon pts. What an embarrassment. The fact that Rybakina would have been somewhere around #5 in the world & is still 23 & Jabeur went from 2 to 5 is just ridiculous. I hope the WTA figures out a way to reward these players,” Stubbs tweeted.

“Also players like @Ajlatom [Ajla Tomljanovic] dropping something like 38 spots and she reached the quarters like last year. Could we not have found a better system than to hurt every player!?” she asked.

Djokovic slipped four places to seventh in the world rankings despite winning his fourth-straight Wimbledon title, while runner-up Nick Kyrgios dropped to 45th in the rankings.

“Let’s not forget the ATP too. I think the ban was not ok, we could talk about that for days and I have my thoughts but punishing EVERY SINGLE player who busted their asses for hours to go backwards in the rankings! Players are playing challenges this week who did great last week,” Stubbs added.

---

Record prize money distributed at Wimbledon 2022

A general view of the Wimbledon Centre Court.

Despite the lack of ranking points on offer at Wimbledon, the organizers ensured that players did not skip the Grand Slam by increasing the prize money offered to £40,350,000.

Singles champions Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina both earned £2 million each while runners-up Kyrgios and Jabeur took home £1,050,000 each. Semifinalists Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep, Cameron Norrie and Tatjana Maria all received prize money of £535,000 each.

The singles quarterfinalists earned £310,000 each, which is an increase from the £294,000 offered in 2019. Those who lost in the last 16 got £190,000 each while players who exited in the third round earned £120,000 each. This is also more than the pre-pandemic levels — £176,000 for the fourth round and £111,000 for the third round.

Players who lost in the opening round were paid £50,000 each and those who reached the second round took home £78,000 each.