Tennis-Wimbledon, LTA appeal against WTA fines for Russians' exclusion

By Sudipto Ganguly

LONDON (Reuters) - Wimbledon organisers and Britain's tennis authorities said on Monday they have appealed against fines handed to them by the women's governing body, WTA, for excluding Russian and Belarussian players from this year's grasscourt events.

The All England Club (AELTC), which organises the Grand Slam, and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) banned players from the two countries at tournaments in Britain following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a 'special operation'.

The WTA and its men's counterpart ATP called the move discriminatory and decided to strip all ranking points from Wimbledon while warning the LTA of sanctions.

As part of the penalties, the LTA was slapped with a fine of £620,000 (about $753,000) while the AELTC has been asked to pay £207,000 ($250,000), the Daily Mail reported.

"I think the first thing to say is that it is the subject of a legal process so I can't comment specifically on that," AELTC CEO Sally Bolton told reporters at Wimbledon on Monday.

"We stand by the decision we made, we are deeply disappointed at the reactions of the tours to that decision and I probably can't say anything more on that at this time, I'm afraid."

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