Norrie backs top players to skip Wimbledon after ATP decision

Cameron Norrie believes that some top players will decide not to compete at Wimbledon this year after the ATP and WTA opted to revoke ranking points from the tournament in light of the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players this year.

Norrie, the British No 1, also said that without players being able to compete for ranking points at Wimbledon, the tournament will more closely resemble an exhibition event.

“Obviously it’s an extremely difficult situation with everything going on with the war, but for me it’s tough,” Norrie said. “Having a home slam and not having to gain any ranking points from that and the tradition of it. You’re not really playing for anything, you’re playing this almost like an exhibition so for me it was tough to see that and obviously it’s a really tricky situation but I would have liked to see it still have points, still have something on the line.”

Norrie says he informed the ATP player council of his opinion regarding the points removal. Asked about whether he thinks the majority of players are against the points removal, Norrie said he believes they are now that the previous year’s points will not be frozen and there will be no opportunity to defend them.

“Wimbledon is still such a special event,” he said. “But I think you’ll see a lot of top players not playing, just resting and getting ready for the hardcourt events. Making sure that they’re ready for those. Especially those that don’t worry too much about the money. So I could see a few top players not playing because of that.”

Sloane Stephens, a former French Open finalist and US Open champion, affirmed her support for the WTA’s decision to remove Wimbledon points. Stephens is part of the WTA player council and she said that the