“There can be no collective responsibility”: why the WTA, ATP and ITF stripped Wimbledon of ranking points

Women's and men's tennis associations showed integrity and did not turn a blind eye to the fact that the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) would not allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to Wimbledon and several of their competitions.

After long consultations, discussions and disputes, the WTA and ATP stripped the Grand Slam tournament of rating points, in fact, turning it into an exhibition one.

Supported the decision and ITF.

Players playing in the junior tournament and in wheelchairs will also not be able to improve their positions at the end of the tournament.

This position of the organizations is explained primarily by the fact that there are no alternative events on the calendar during the days of Wimbledon in which suspended tennis players could participate, which means that the rating system built over the years is violated.

Freezing points, according to the WTA and ATP, will also not solve the problem. 

“The reality is that, as one of the biggest tennis tournaments, Wimbledon will continue to be played and will attract players with or without ranking points,” the ATP said in a statement.

Other tournaments in the UK have not been sanctioned as alternative events will take place in Europe at the same time.

Thus, the Russians and Belarusians will be able to speak at them.

The logic of this decision also lies in the fact that if tennis players come to Wimbledon in any case, then the rest of the competition may simply not take place.

The WTA and ATP also point out that there was no pressure on them.

Russian and Belarusian athletes, in particular, did not ask to punish the British in any way.

“There are no vested interests behind the decision.

We have a broader collective vision to protect the rights of all athletes as a whole within the ATP Tour, regardless of their nationality and place of birth.

The tough position of the organizations is also due to the fact that the British government, as it turned out, did not demand the removal of tennis players.

In the recommendations, Russians and Belarusians were asked openly in interviews not to support the special operation in Ukraine.

Thus, there were many options for resolving the issue, but the leadership of Wimbledon, without consulting anyone, chose the most severe of them.

It is important to pay attention to one more thing: the behavior of the organizers of Wimbledon created a precedent.

And if the leadership of the tour had not reacted to the situation in any way, following the British, such bans could have been introduced at other tournaments.

“Our decision was made with the intent to prevent the setting of a harmful and unacceptable precedent, and not to punish these events for their response to this horrendous crisis,” the statement said.

At the same time, according to the leaders of the ATP and WTA, in the current political situation there can be no collective responsibility, and the removal of players will not change anything.

“We believe that individuals should not be punished on the basis of the concept of collective responsibility due to the reprehensible actions of an autocratic government.

This was the position taken in the world of tennis when, in March 2022, it was decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the ATP Tour in a neutral status.

In the UK, they were disappointed with the decision of the tour, but the organizers of Wimbledon do not plan to change their position.

“We believe that these decisions are not commensurate with the exceptional and extreme circumstances we find ourselves in and are detrimental to all players on the tour.

At the moment, we are considering various options and officially declare our position.

We are also negotiating with other Grand Slam tournaments, ”says the Wimbledon website.

At the same time, representatives of the tennis world were divided on whether the ATP, WTA and ITF did the right thing.

Two-time Grand Slam winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov believes this is a good signal to tournament organizers who want to follow the British example.

And according to the Roland Garros semi-finalist Andrei Chesnokov, the decision of the tour hits the players first, and not Wimbledon.