Wimbledon: The ATP fines the British Federation for not taking part from Russians and Belarusians

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has fined the British Tennis Association (LTA) £820,000 ($1 million) for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from this year’s Wimbledon Championships over the Russian invasion of Ukraine .

The athletes were not even allowed to compete in the preparatory tournaments on British soil. Wimbledon was the first Grand Slam to disqualify athletes from certain countries, a move condemned by many in the tennis world and of course by the two professional bodies, the ATP and WTA.

The first penalty from the federations was the removal of Wimbledon from ranked tournaments, with the result that those athletes who competed and excelled received no ATP or WTA points.

The imposition of the exorbitant fine, as was customary, provoked reactions from the British.

“LTA is deeply disappointed by this. In its conclusion, the ATP did not recognize the special conditions created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, nor the reactions of the international sporting community or the British government. The ATP appears to view this matter as a direct breach of its rules, with a striking lack of empathy for the situation in Ukraine and a clear lack of understanding of the unique circumstances faced by the LTA,” the British Tennis Association said in an explanation .

For its part, the ATP has justified its stance, both in its decision not to rate Wimbledon and the fine it imposed on the LTA.

“We stand by our original position that unilateral decisions by members of the ATP Tour endanger our ability to function as a global sport. We believe the measures taken protect the long-term future of the sport and its commitment to values-based, non-discriminatory participation for individual athletes,” the ATP said in a statement.

SOURCE: Tennis24