Wimbledon responds to ATP, WTA & ITF's move to strip ranking points for 2022 Championship

The All England Club and the managing committee of Wimbledon have issued a statement reacting to the ATP, WTA and ITF's decision to remove ranking points for the Wimbledon 2022 Championships. The ATP and WTA, along with the International Tennis Federation (ITF), have opted to strip Wimbledon 2022 of its ranking points following the embargoes on Russian and Belarusian Tennis players. The Russian and Belarusian players were banned from partaking in tournaments in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

Wimbledon news: All England Club responds to removal of points by ATP, WTA and ITF

Expressing disappointment over the decisions taken by the ATP, WTA and ITF in removing ranking points for The Championships, the statement read, "We wish to state our deep disappointment at the decisions taken by the ATP, WTA and ITF in removing ranking points for The Championships. We believe these decisions to be disproportionate in the context of the exceptional and extreme circumstances of this situation and the position we found ourselves in and damaging to all players who compete on Tour. We are considering our options, and we are reserving our position at this stage. We are also in discussion with our Grand Slam colleagues".

The All England Club and the Committee of Management of The Championships in their statement further said, "Given the position taken by the UK Government to limit Russia's global influence, which removed automatic entry by ranking, and the widespread response of Government, industry, sport and creative institutions, we remain of the view that we have made the only viable decision for Wimbledon as a globally renowned sporting event and British institution, and we stand by the decision we have made. We believe that requiring written declarations from individual players – and that would apply to all relevant players – as a condition of entry in the high-profile circumstances of Wimbledon would carry significant scrutiny and risk". 

ATP, WTA statement on stripping Wimbledon of ranking points

The ATP, WTA and ITF in the statement have stated that 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. The statement said, "Our internal discussions with affected players in fact led us to conclude this would have been a more agreeable option for the Tour. We remain hopeful of further discussions with Wimbledon leading to an acceptable outcome for all concerned. More broadly, we believe this matter again highlights the need for a united governance structure across professional tennis so that decisions of this nature can be made in a joint manner."