Sloane Stephens backs decision to not award ranking points at Wimbledon after tournament's ban of Russian, Belarusian players

Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens said on Sunday she supports the WTA and ATP's decision to not award ranking points at Wimbledon and stated she had previously hoped «everyone had a fair opportunity to play.»

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 because of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and the tours took subsequent action Friday.

Stephens, a member of the WTA's Player Council, was asked about the latest development following her first-round win over Jule Niemeier at the French Open.

«I think the decision that was taken was the correct one,» Stephens said. «I think that there [are] a lot of things that happened behind the scenes that the press are not aware of, and I think there has been a lot of mishandling of how everything was handled. We will just go from there.

»I mean, obviously I support our CEO, I support my council, I support the players. The decision that's been taken obviously wasn't taken lightly. I think when you are backed into a corner and that's all you can do, I think that's why the decision was made, and I support it."

Stephens said the Player Council had «worked really hard» to try to get the ban reversed to allow the Russian and Belarusian players to participate, but it had been unsuccessful. When asked about the fairness of the decision in regard to players who had substantial ranking points to defend at Wimbledon, she said the stance was more important than the wants of specific individuals.

«I think when you look at the principles and what our tour stands for, discrimination will never be tolerated,» Stephens said. «That's exactly what's happening. As long as that's in play, there is no