Ukrainian-born Denis Kudla weighs in on Wimbledon's Russia ban and ATP points strip

Denis Kudla has had his say on Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from The Championships amid the war in Ukraine. The Kyiv-born American still has family in Ukraine and also spoke out on the ATP's decision to remove ranking points from Wimbledon as a sanction for their ban.

Kudla has been in good form on the grass so far this season, reaching the Surbiton Challenger final and making the second round of Queen's as a lucky loser, pushing defending champion Matteo Berrettini to three sets. But the world No 82's ranking will take a hit when his Wimbledon 2021 third round points are removed as a result of the ATP's decision to remove all points from the tournament.

The American was born in Kyiv and still has family in Ukraine, but refused to criticise the ATP or Wimbledon after the tours sanctioned the event for banning Russians and Belarusians in response to the war. "It's a tough decision, I understand obviously both sides of it," he said after his three-set loss at Queen's.

Kudla - who lost to eventual-champion Novak Djokovic at SW19 last year - also explained Wimbledon's decision as he said: "You know, ATP's choice of not wanting to discriminate against their players but I also see not letting the Russian players play because of Russia liking their athletes winning matches so it's tough."

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