Wimbledon organisers have responded following the huge blow of the Grand Slam's ranking points being stripped by the ATP, WTA and ITF.
Wimbledon had decided to ban Russian and Belarusian stars from the summer's tournament in the wake of the war with Ukraine, but the move proved highly divisive and the All England Club faced imminent threats soon after.
One of those threats was Wimbledon being stripped of its ranking points, which indeed materialised on Friday evening with the ATP and WTA Tours, as well as the ITF, taking the unprecedented move. The decision has effectively reduced the Grand Slam to an exhibition event, in what is a major blow to the organisers.
And after the move was announced on Friday, Wimbledon's chiefs expressed their 'deep disappointment' but added they stood by the decision.
A Wimbledon statement read: "We appreciate that opinions differ in relation to our decision to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to the championships this year, and we deeply regret the impact of this decision on the individuals affected.
"However, given the position taken by the UK Government to limit Russia's global influence, which removed automatic entry by ranking, and the widespread response of Government, industry, sport and creative institutions, we remain of the view that we have made the only viable decision for Wimbledon as a globally renowned sporting event and British institution, and we stand by the decision we have made.
"We therefore wish to state our deep disappointment at the decisions taken by the ATP, WTA and ITF in removing ranking points for the championships.
"We believe these decisions to be disproportionate in the context of the exceptional and extreme circumstances of this situation and the position we found ourselves in, and damaging to all players who compete on tour.
"We are considering our options, and we are reserving our position at this stage. We are also in discussion with our Grand Slam colleagues."
The move means tennis' big-name players will lose their points from 2021, so the likes of world No 1 Novak Djokovic will be denied the opportunity to defend the 2000 points he claimed from his victory 12 months ago at SW19.
There will be some huge names missing from this year's iconic Grand Slam after Wimbledon's move, including Russian Daniil Medvedev on the men's side while female Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka has also been forced to sit out.
