The women바카라s and men바카라s professional tennis tours will not award ranking points for Wimbledon this year because of the All England Club바카라s ban on players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine, an unprecedented move that stands as a significant rebuke of the sport바카라s oldest Grand Slam tournament. ()
The WTA and ATP announced their decisions Friday night, two days before the start of the French Open 바카라 and a little more than a month before play begins at Wimbledon on June 27.
In a technical sense, this renders the event an exhibition, because there are no ranking points at stake. Still, it remains Wimbledon, with its traditions and prestige, from the grass underfoot to the all-white clothing, from the Royal Box to the strawberries and cream, not to mention millions of dollars in prize money, and so the expectation is that everyone eligible to enter will do so.
Russian athletes have been prevented from competing in many sports, including soccer바카라s World Cup qualifying playoffs, since the country began attacking Ukraine in February. Belarus has aided Russia in the invasion.
The All England Club said in April it would not allow Russians or Belarusians to compete, which drew immediate criticism from the WTA and the ATP, along with some prominent players, such as defending champion Novak Djokovic. It will bear watching how this whole episode affects the relationships among the various entities that have a say in the way tennis is run.
바카라The ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental to our tour,바카라 the ATP said in a statement. 바카라The decision by Wimbledon to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the U.K. this summer undermines this principle and the integrity of the ATP ranking system.바카라
Saying it made this move 바카라with great regret and reluctance,바카라 the ATP added: 바카라Our rules and agreements exist in order to protect the rights of players as a whole. Unilateral decisions of this nature, if unaddressed, set a damaging precedent for the rest of the tour. Discrimination by individual tournaments is simply not viable on a tour that operates in more than 30 countries.바카라
A statement attributed to WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon and released by that tour Friday said, in part: 바카라Nearly 50 years ago, the WTA was founded on the fundamental principle that all players have an equal opportunity to compete based on merit and without discrimination. The WTA believes that individual athletes participating in an individual sport should not be penalized or prevented from competing solely because of their nationalities or the decisions made by the governments of their countries.바카라
In addition, the International Tennis Federation said Friday it would not grant its ranking points for the junior and wheelchair events at Wimbledon this year, explaining that 바카라tournament organizers are not permitted to unilaterally impose entry criteria.바카라
The All England Club sent a statement via email expressing its 바카라deep disappointment바카라 at the removal of ranking points, calling the tours바카라 position 바카라disproportionate in the context of the exceptional and extreme circumstances of this situation and the position we found ourselves in바카라 and terming it 바카라damaging to all players.바카라
The club reiterated the two main ways in which it previously defended the choice to bar Russians and Belarusians: It followed advice from the British government, and an unwillingness 바카라to accept success or participation at Wimbledon being used to benefit the propaganda machine of the Russian regime, which, through its closely controlled State media, has an acknowledged history of using sporting success to support a triumphant narrative to the Russian people.바카라
Among the prominent players affected by the ban are reigning U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who recently reached No. 1 in the rankings and is currently No. 2; men바카라s No. 7 Andrey Rublev; women바카라s No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka, a Wimbledon semifinalist last year; and Victoria Azarenka, a former No. 1 who has won the Australian Open twice.
Medvedev and Rublev are from Russia; Sabalenka and Azarenka are from Belarus.
They are all eligible to compete in Paris, and Medvedev deflected questions about the topic of Wimbledon바카라s Russia policy on Friday.
바카라Right now I바카라m focused on Roland Garros,바카라 he said at a pre-tournament news conference. 바카라I바카라m here.바카라
When a reporter raised the possibility of legal action against the All England Club, perhaps via the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Medvedev said: 바카라Me, personally, I won바카라t go to court.바카라
The U.S. Tennis Association, which runs the U.S. Open, has not announced a decision about players from Russia and Belarus; that tournament starts Aug. 29.
바카라The USTA respects the difficult position that Wimbledon faced in its decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players,바카라 spokesman Chris Widmaier wrote in an email. 바카라We also respect the grounds on which both the men바카라s and women바카라s tours responded, though we believe their decision to withdraw points from all those who play Wimbledon this year is disproportionately severe due to the extreme and unique situation Wimbledon faced when making its decision.바카라
