The usual trophies and prize money will be on the line for Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek and other top tennis players at Wimbledon, but there is a significant change there this year: No one will earn ranking points, a valuable currency in tennis, when play begins on June 27.
The women’s and men’s professional tours announced on Friday that they will not award ranking points to players at Wimbledon’s grass-court Grand Slam tournament because of the All England Club’s decision to bar players from Russia and Belarus over the war on Ukraine.
Both the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) said they were reacting to what they called “discrimination” against tennis players.
Here is a look at how this unprecedented move came about and what it means for Wimbledon and the world’s top tennis players:
Why did Wimbledon bar Russians and Belarusians?
The All England Club, which runs the oldest Grand Slam tournament – Wimbledon was first held in 1877 – announced in April it would not allow players from Russia or Belarus to enter the event in 2022 because of the war in Ukraine.
Chief Executive Sally Bolton defended the club’s move as following a directive from the British government, and she cited a “responsibility to play our part in limiting the possibility of Wimbledon being used to justify the harm being done to others by the Russian regime”.
Have other sports banned Russian athletes?
Yes, including in football, where the Russian men’s team was kicked out of qualifying matches for this year’s World Cup. Figure skating and track and field are among the other sports to have taken action against Russian and Belarusian athletes.
In tennis, players from those countries have been allowed to compete – including at the French Open, the year’s second Grand Slam tournament, which begins on Sunday in Paris – but as “neutral” athletes who are not being identified by their nationalities.
Who can’t play at Wimbledon?
The most prominent Russian tennis player at the moment is Daniil Medvedev, who won the US Open last September and briefly reached number one in the men’s rankings this year. Andrey Rublev, who is ranked number seven in the ATP, is another top male player.
The WTA’s number seven, Aryna Sabalenka, who was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon a year ago, and former number one Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, are from Belarus...
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