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Wimbledon has copped criticism over the past few weeks after imposing a ban on Russian and Belarusian players in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The WTA, the governing body for women's tennis, is reportedly pondering stripping Wimbledon of its rankings points if the ban on Russian and Belarusian players isn't lifted. According to the Daily Mail, the men's governing body, the ATP, is also poised to take similar action.
According to the report, WTA chief Steve Simon headed a conference call with some of the leading players and stressed that he will be recommending this course of action. However, other grasscourt tournaments being held in the UK in the lead up to Wimbledon will not be stripped of points since players will be able to participate in events taking place in other countries at the same time.
Wimbledon's ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes was condemned by a majority of the tennis fraternity
Following a statement released by All England Club chiefs announcing the ban on players from Russia and Belarus, the ATP released a statement of their own condemning the move.
According to the ATP, the move "has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game."
"Discrimination based on nationality also constitutes a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon that states that player entry is based solely on ATP Rankings," the statement read.
"We believe that today's unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the LTA to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year's British grass-court swing is unfair and has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game," ATP statement said.
The WTA echoed similar sentiments, accusing the Wimbledon chiefs of discrimination.
"We are very disappointed in today’s announcement by the AELTC and the LTA to ban individual athletes who are from Russia and Belarus from competing in the upcoming UK grass court events. A fundamental principal of the WTA is that individual athletes may participate in professional tennis events based on merit and without any form of discrimination," WTA said in a statement.
“As the WTA has consistently stated, individual athletes should not be penalized or prevented from competing due to where they are from, or the decisions made by the governments of their countries. Discrimination, and the decision to focus such discrimination against athletes competing on their own as individuals, is neither fair nor justified. The WTA will continue to apply its rules to reject discrimination and ensure that all athletes are able to compete at our Tour events should they qualify to do so."
Former and current players like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Chris Evert also expressed their opposition to the ban.
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