British tennis star Dan Evans has taken aim at the ATP and WTA regarding the potential ban on pre-Wimbledon events.
Last year Russian and Belarusian players were banned from competing at all British events due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Now, the organisations of the men’s and women’s tours have sent a warning to the LTA - and may even cancel the British events prior to Wimbledon this summer - if the players from the two aforementioned nations remain unable to play.
The respective tours have stated their intention to cancel the LTA's membership if it exercises further "discrimination based on nationality", which means traditional tournaments staged at The Queen's Club, Eastbourne and elsewhere in the run-up to Wimbledon could be removed from the tennis calendar. This has been met with disappointment by Evans, who can not fathom the possibility of the traditional warmup events for Wimbledon not taking place.
"It's a sad state of affairs if Queen's wasn't on," the world no. 28 told the Times. "I'm not a fan of the threats. The ATP should not throw stones when they live in glass houses. Queen's is one of the best and most prestigious tournaments on the tour, which has done a lot for the ATP Tour in its time."
While the decision made by the LTA and AELTC last year was well received by most of the public, the ATP and WTA were on the opposite sides of the fence. The LTA was fined £1.4m by the organisations and stripped Wimbledon of its ranking points as a result.
But following an appeal, it was ruled that the WTA’s fine of £1 million will be halved if players from the two nations are allowed to play in the UK this year. "I'm a massive advocate for the ATP generally," added Evans. "They do great things but we have to have sensible conversations. I don't think threatening the LTA with taking away the licence for these events is how it's going to be resolved."
There is no threat of Wimbledon not going ahead because it is a Grand Slam tournament, meaning it is not governed by the ATP and WTA tours. "It affects all of the Brits," Evans added. "They're not going to get chances or playing opportunities with a wild card.
"I think common sense should prevail. The LTA's hands are tied a little bit as well. This subject goes a bit bigger than tennis federations and governing bodies."
Evans, who has so far struggled for form in 2023, was hoping for a solid campaign at the Dubai Open, but withdrew from his opening match with Marin Cilic after just four games due to injury.
Evans, who had his right ankle strapped, called for the trainer at 2-2 and hit only one more serve before deciding to stop. The player reached the third round of the Australian Open but has won only one of his seven singles matches this season.
