Novak Djokovic laments Wimbledon's 'lose-lose situation' to ban Russian, Belarusian players, but backs ATP

Following his first-round win at the French Open on Monday, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic told reporters he disagreed with Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from the upcoming tournament. Djokovic added that he understood the ATP's subsequent decision to not award ranking points at the event.

«On a personal level, of course, without getting a chance to play and defend my 4,000 points I'm going to drop in this year [at] Australia and Wimbledon. So, of course, on a personal, individual level, I have been very negatively affected by that,» said Djokovic, who is the two-time defending champion at the All England Club. «But I have been speaking with management and the president of [the] ATP and some of the council members actually in the last few days.

»I think collectively I'm glad that players got together with ATP, the governing body of the men's tennis, and showed to the Grand Slam that, you know, when there is a mistake happening, and there was from the Wimbledon side, then we have to show that there is going to be some consequences."

Russia, with help from Belarus, began attacking Ukraine in late February. The All England Club announced in April it would not allow players from Russia or Belarus to participate in the year's third Grand Slam. The ATP, as well as the WTA, announced on Friday it would not award ranking points to any players for results at Wimbledon.

Djokovic said he was disappointed in the lack of communication from the tournament or any attempt to find «common ground.» He said he had heard talk of various alternate ideas, including an exhibition event for the banned players to run concurrently alongside the major, but indicated they were not coming to fruition.

Ultimately, Djokovic