The upcoming Wimbledon is strife with controversy as the ATP and WTA recently decided to strip the major tournament of all ranking points after the organisers decided to impose a ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
Recently it has also been reported that Wimbledon could be taking legal measures against the ATP and WTA in response to striping the ranking points from the tournament.
The tennis fraternity was shocked after the ATP and the WTA decided to remove ranking points in their entirety from Wimbledon this year.
As the world ranking points row intensifies, Wimbledon organisers are exploring the possibility of legal action against the ATP and WTA tours. It is understood that the other grand slams could offer their support as a joint action. https://t.co/ySN5PSZH4t
— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) May 25, 2022
This has led to some of the players deciding to boycott the tournament since the incentive of earning valuable ATP points is absent. A lot of players were also disappointed in the fact that they were not consulted by the tennis federations before taking such a drastic measure.
Wimbledon set to take legal measures after banning Russian and Belarusian players
The measure taken by ATP and WTA to remove all ranking points came after Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarusian players from participating in the Grand Slam title this year.
The federations and the tours have an agreement with the tournament to award ranking points to the players based on their performances at the grass-court major tournament.
There is also a good chance of other majors such as the Australian Open, French Open, and the US Open offering support to the Wimbledon in their pursuit of legal action.
A lot of players have been deciding to shorten their stay in London so that they can collect their prize money and leave as soon as possible. A lot of players have openly shared their disappointment in the decision taken by ATP and WTA.
A lot of the players have been hoping that the federations decide to make a U-Turn on their decisions and avert at least 50 per cent of the ranking points. Denis Shapovalov in an interview slammed the decision of ATP. He stated,
“So it’s difficult. Yeah, it’s difficult. I think they could have gone with it a different way, maybe keep 50 percent like they have in the past or some kind of fairness. But even a guy like Fucsovics is going to drop out of the top 100, you know. So it’s difficult for the players when you don’t have a chance to defend and especially on a surface like grass where it’s already so short.”
The players and fans would be hoping for the tournament organisers and the WTA and ATP to come to a middle ground in order to solve this issue.