“Until circumstances change, it is with great regret and reluctance that we see no choice but to withdraw Wimbledon ATP ranking points for 2022”it was said in a message. The WTA assertedthat equal opportunities must be maintained and any form of discrimination must be rejected. The tournament organizers at Wimbledon said they would stick to their decision.
Wimbledon: “No participation for the benefit of the Russian regime’s propaganda machine”
On the one hand, there was no willingness to take action “which could endanger the personal safety of the players or their families”. What was meant were written declarations by the players to distance themselves from the war. Nor would it have been acceptable “that success or attendance at Wimbledon will be used for the benefit of the Russian regime’s propaganda machine”.
Achievements by Russian athletes and the organization of major sporting events have always been part of the propaganda of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Shortly after the war began, Putin was hailed in front of tens of thousands at an event at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. Next to him were Russian winners of Olympic medals, who took part in the Winter Games in Beijing under a “neutral flag”.
IOC had recommended the exclusion of athletes
After Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, with the help of Belarus, the International Olympic Committee recommended that all international sports associations exclude athletes from tournaments.
The ATP emphasized that they “Condemn Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine”. An ATP tournament in Moscow has been canceled and players from Russia and Belarus can only play under a neutral flag. Several tennis players, including Alexander Zverev or Rafael Nadal, had the players excluded as “unfair” called because it is about individual athletes.