Players To Boycott Wimbledon? … Due To ‘Exhibition Status’

Summary

• ATP and WTA will not award points to players at Wimbledon
• Wimbledon will not get any points over Russian and Belarusian ban
• Multiple players are expected to skip Wimbledon due to this

Wimbledon 2022 is set to take place at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club from June 27 to July 10.

Wimbledon is usually the most popular Grand Slam tournament amongst the four grand slams and tends to pay out the highest prize money as well.

The popularity for Wimbledon 2022 has dipped this year, after the All England Lawn Tennis made a decision to ban all Russian and Belarusian players from participating in the tournament due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

No Points For Players At Wimbledon 2022

Most tennis players were unhappy with the decision as they felt Wimbledon was penalizing Russian and Belarusian for something they had no control over. While tennis pros around the world condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they believe that officials at Wimbledon made the wrong decision by punishing Russian and Belarusian players who felt discriminated.

The ATP and WTA did not agree with the decision made by Wimbledon and made their stance pretty clear by announcing that they will not award any points to players at Wimbledon in 2022 due to the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players.

The decision not to award points to players at Wimbledon caused another uproar with the tennis community as they felt they were being targeted and penalized yet again for something they had no control over. As a result, a number of players are expected to skip Wimbledon 2022 and there are unconfirmed reports as of now that the prize money could also dip this year.

Multiple Players Could Skip 2022 Wimbledon

A number of top players including Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal have spoken out against the ban on Russian and Belarusian players. Djokovic said it was the right decision by the ATP and WTA to strip Wimbledon of giving out points but confirmed that he would still play at Wimbledon.

Former world number 1, Naomi Osaka is another player who is unhappy with the decision and suggested that she will likely skip Wimbledon this year. Frenchman Lucas Pouille who was once ranked 10th in the world has confirmed that he will not play at Wimbledon. We expect more players to confirm pulling out of Wimbledon in the next few weeks.