John McEnroe has labelled the Wimbledon saga that has marred the build-up as a 'lose-lose situation'. It has been an unusually tumultuous year for tennis, starting with Novak Djokovic’s visa saga and eventual deportation from Australia in January.
Months later, Wimbledon opted to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing this year due to President Putin's invasion of Ukraine. In support of the players affected, the ATP and WTA opted to strip the Grand Slam of ranking points, almost rendering it an exhibition event.
Tennis icon McEnroe has now described the sage as an unfortunate situation and stressed there is no winner in this tussle. "It was a mistake (to ban Russian and Belarusian players)," he told Reuters. "I know that it's a very horrible, tricky, terrible situation, obviously, in Ukraine."
"And no one else has made that decision. I think there was something with the government? I don't know exactly. I wish that wasn't what they did. And I wish the ATP and the WTA didn't decide it, say right now no points. It's like a lose-lose right now. Tennis players, we are like a fraternity. We travel the world. And even if we speak different languages, there's a connection. And in a small way, it's like a family. And we need to support each other.
"It's difficult to see like some of our best players not playing because of something they have nothing to do with. So I hope it is resolved. I don't know. But it's a bad situation." With no ranking points on offer at the All-England Club this year, it will significantly impact some players, such as defending champion Novak Djokovic.
Players usually receive 2,000 ranking points for winning a Grand Slam singles title, but with none on offer at Wimbledon this year, Djokovic will lose those points he gained from 2021, regardless of how he performs at SW19.
Remarkably, if Djokovic wins both the ongoing French Open and Wimbledon, he could still find himself 2,000 points down on where he currently is in the world rankings. Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, the current second and third-ranked players in the world, only reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, so will only drop 180 points from Wimbledon and could both have leapfrogged Djokovic come the end of July.
Djokovic could, however, claw back some of the points he is set to lose if he plays and performs at a Wimbledon warm-up event, with 500 points on offer for the winner at both Queen's and Halle. Some players may choose to boycott the event with no points to play for, with Naomi Osaka suggesting she is unsure if she will participate, but McEnroe dismissed this theory.
"I see all players going to Wimbledon, but that depends on the individual," Eurosport tennis pundit McEnroe added. "The fact that there's no points, I disagree with that, but I don't think that's going to stop people, the players from going to Wimbledon. We'll know in a few weeks, but I would think all the top players that believe they can do well there are going to still play."
