Wimbledon stripped of ranking points by ATP and WTA over Russia, Belarus ban

Wimbledon had its ranking points stripped by the ATP and WTA Tours on Friday over its decision to exclude players from Russia and Belarus at this year's Championships due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Tennis' governing bodies have banned Russia and Belarus from international team competitions following the invasion, which Moscow calls a 'special operation', but allowed players from the two countries to continue competing as neutrals.

The move by the men's and women's tours to strip Wimbledon of its ranking points will effectively reduce the world's most famous tennis tournament to an exhibition event. "The ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental to our Tour," the ATP said in a statement.

"The decision by Wimbledon to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the UK this summer undermines this principle and the integrity of the ATP Ranking system. It is also inconsistent with our Rankings agreement.

"Absent a change in circumstances, it is with great regret and reluctance that we see no option but to remove ATP Ranking points from Wimbledon for 2022." WTA chief Steve Simon said the tour believes athletes participating in an individual sport "should not be penalised or prevented from competing solely because of their nationalities or the decisions made by the governments of their countries." "The recent decisions made by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to ban athletes from competing in the upcoming UK grass court events violate that fundamental principle," Simon said. "As a result of the AELTC's position that it will not honour its obligation to use the WTA Rankings for entry into