The management of the Wimbledon tournament announced Monday that it has appealed the fine of one million dollars (960,000 euros) imposed by the WTA due to the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian players this year.
"We are in a legal process so I'm not going to comment specifically but what I can say is that we stand by our decision.
We have appealed,” said Sally Bolton, director of the London Grand Slam, on the sidelines of the tournament.
According to the Daily Mail, the British Tennis Federation (Lawn Tennis Association) received from the WTA, which manages the women's circuit, a fine of 750,000 dollars and the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which organizes the tournament, was fined penalized up to $250,000.
“It was not easy but it was the right decision”
The WTA, like the ATP which manages the men's circuit, denounced Wimbledon's decision not to accept Russian and Belarusian players this year in retaliation for the war in Ukraine.
Invoking a breach of fairness, the two authorities had already reacted by announcing that they would not distribute any ranking points in the Major on grass.
Excluded from Wimbledon, the Russians and Belarusians had also not been accepted at the English preparatory tournaments of the previous weeks, in Eastbourne, Nottingham and Birmingham, but ATP and WTA points were at stake there because the excluded could line up in tournaments held on the same dates in other countries, unlike the Grand Slam tournament.
“We thought about our decision for a long time,” Bolton repeated.
“It was not easy and we assessed the consequences.
But it was the right decision,” insisted the tournament director.
Russian and Belarusian players are allowed to participate in other tournaments in the world under neutral flag.
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War in Ukraine