ATP places £820,000 fine on LTA for ban on Russian players over Ukraine war; LTA responds

The ATP announced on Wednesday that the British tennis governing body, Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) will be fined an amount of £820,000 or $1 million for the ban placed on Russian and Belarusian players. Earlier this year, the Russian and Belarusian players were banned from participating in the grass-court tournaments in the UK due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

While LTA placed the ban in the build-up to the Wimbledon Championships 2022, the Grand Slam tournament became the first of its kind to ban competitors from the two nations. 

Earlier this year in April, ATP and WTA condemned the move by Wimbledon, while saying that it could set a damaging precedent for the game. At the same time, the ATP and WTA had also stripped Wimbledon off ranking points, as the players didn’t receive any points for participating in the events. “The ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental to our Tour,” ATP said in a statement in 2015.

LTA issues response to ATP’s £820,000 ban

Meanwhile, after receiving the £820,000 fine LTA responded to ATP’s decision and revealed their disappointment with it. As reported by Eurosport, in a statement revealing their side, LTA said, “The ATP, in its finding, has shown no recognition of the exceptional circumstances created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, or the international sporting community and UK Government's response to that invasion. The ATP appear to regard this matter as a straightforward breach of their rules - with a surprising lack of empathy shown for the situation in Ukraine, and a clear lack of understanding of the unique circumstances the LTA faced”.

'A material impact on the LTA's ability to develop and host tennis': LTA

LTA further added that the fine will have a material impact on the governing body’s ability to organize tournaments and develop tennis in the country. “For example, we had intended to host a number of ATP Challenger level events to give more opportunities to lower ranked players in the first quarter of 2023 and will now not be able to do this, particularly given the possibility of further fines. We will carefully consider our response and we await the outcome of our appeal against the WTA's decision and sanction.,” the statement read.