Organisers of the men's international tennis circuit say they're considering their next move after Wimbledon tournament directors barred Russian and Belarusian players from this year's competition over the conflict in Ukraine.
The ATP and WTA – which oversee the men's and women's tours respectively – issued statements raising their concerns over the announcement from the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) that stars such as world number 2 Daniil Medvedev and world number 4 Aryna Sabalenka would not be allowed at the third Grand Slam tournament of the season.
Britain's Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), which stages grass court warm-up events in the country, also said it would ban players from the two countries.
"We believe that the unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the LTA to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year’s British grass-court swing is unfair and has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game," said the ATP.
"Discrimination based on nationality also constitutes a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon that states that player entry is based solely on ATP rankings.
Review
"Any course of action in response to this decision will now be assessed in consultation with our board and member councils," the ATP added.
The men's world number 1 Novak Djokovic, who won the 2021 Wimbledon title, hit out at the AELTC decision.
Djokovic, 34, who is competing at a clay court tournament in his native Serbia, said: "I will always condemn war. I will never support war being myself a child of war.
"I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. In Serbia we all know what happened in 1999. In the Balkans we have had many wars in recent history.
"However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon, I think it is crazy. When politics interferes with sport, the result is not good."
Principal
Sabalenka, who was born in Minsk, reached last year's semi-final. She will be the highest ranked female player to be affected. Compatriot Victoria Azarenka, a former world number 1, will also miss out.
“A fundamental principal of the WTA is that individual athletes may participate in professional tennis events based on merit and without any form of discrimination," said a WTA statement.
"That principle is expressly set forth in our rules and has been agreed to by both AELTC and LTA. Prohibitions against discrimination are also clearly expressed in their own rules and the Grand Slam rules."
With the help of the Belarusian government, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his country's armed forces into Ukraine on 24 February.
Sanctions have been placed on oligarchs close to the Putin administration as western governments and businesses have stopped trading with the countries.
In the sports world, European football's ruling body Uefa stripped Saint Petersburg of its right to stage the Champions League final on 28 May, but Russians and Belarusians have been allowed to compete at tennis tournaments so long as their national flag was not displayed.
"In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players," an AELTC statement said.
Regret
"It is therefore our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to Wimbledon."
Russian and Belarusian players will continue to be allowed to play at ATP and WTA events under a neutral flag, said both organisations.
Wimbledon’s decision was welcomed by Britain's culture secretary, Nadine Dorries. She said: “Whilst the withdrawal of individual athletes is a complex issue, there is a bigger cause at stake.
"This decision means Putin won’t use the most iconic Grand Slam in tennis to try to legitimise the horrors he is inflicting on the Ukrainian people. The right move.”
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the ban unacceptable.
"Taking into account that Russia is a very strong tennis country and our athletes are at the top of world rankings, the competition itself will suffer from their removal," he said.
