LTA fined $1m and warned over ban on Russian and Belarusian players

The Lawn Tennis Association, Britain's governing body for the sport, has been fined $1million (€950,000) by the ATP for its ban on Russian and Belarusian players.

It is also understood that the LTA has been threatened with expulsion from the Tour if it repeats the ban, imposed earlier this year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Russians and Belarusians were controversially prevented from competing at the LTA's five ATP events; Queen’s Club, Eastbourne, Surbiton, Nottingham and Ilkley.

The All England Club also banned them from playing at Wimbledon, which was subsequently stripped of its ranking points by the ATP and the WTA.

The WTA had also issued a $1million fine ($750,000 to the LTA and £250,000 to the AELTC) which Britain’s governing body of tennis has appealed against.

The LTA said it is considering its response to the latest sanction and accused the ATP of a "lack of empathy" over the situation in Ukraine.

A statement read: "The LTA is deeply disappointed with this outcome. The ATP, in its finding, has shown no recognition of the exceptional circumstances created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or the international sporting community and UK Government’s response to that invasion.

"The ATP appear to regard this matter as a straightforward breach of their rules – with a surprising lack of empathy shown for the situation in Ukraine, and a clear lack of understanding of the unique circumstances the LTA faced.

"The financial impact of both this fine and the WTA’s fine will have a material impact on the LTA’s ability to develop and host tennis in this country.

"For example, we had intended to host a number of ATP Challenger level events to give more opportunities to lower ranked players in the first quarter of 2023 and