(Tennis news) Following the ATP’s decision to award ranking points for United Kingdom’s grass court events next month, the WTA has followed suit with the same decision. However, Wimbledon could still be stripped of points after the All England Club and the LTA decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the prestigious event due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The verdict regarding the outcome of the Grand Slam event is expected to be announced in the coming days.

Speaking for the first time since the ban was announced, LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said “I acknowledge the fact that it is a very complex matter and there's a range of opinions, but given the circumstance that we are operating under in this country and public sentiment about Ukraine, I feel we have made the right decision. I don't believe discriminatory is the right description here. We are necessarily needing to work within the framework of government guidance here in the UK. We, alongside a number of other sports, have come to the same conclusion – the likes of boxing, motor sport, athletics and the IOC." 

According to the ATP, the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players “undermines the ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit.” The Lawn Tennis Association and the All England Club have reiterated that their decision is based on "directional guidance" from the United Kingdom government, with the LTA recently receiving a £10.2m support package from Sport England. 

Lloyd spoke about the importance of government funding by saying “Our partnership with Sport England and indeed the government is very important to tennis in this country. The government is going to invest some £22m in helping the LTA to restore park tennis facilities, which is very important for grassroots tennis. And of course we've got to remember that last summer tennis tournaments, and Wimbledon in particular, were one of the first sporting events to get back to some sense of normality post the Covid pandemic. That couldn't have been done without the support and partnership of the government." 

While the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players has attracted a lot of criticism, the decision to strip an event like Wimbledon would be unfair to the players participating in the tournament and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the ATP and WTA may reach different conclusions. The idea of stripping Wimbledon off points could also have bigger repercussions on certain players, such as Novak Djokovic, who will not be able to defend the 2000 points he secured last year, which would mean he will lose his number one ranking.

Also read: Andy Murray to play at Queen's Club and Surbiton grass court events