When the LTA decided to follow Wimbledon’s lead by banning Russian and Belarusian players from its summer grass-court events, executives at the organisation can hardly have imagined they were taking a million-dollar decision.
That is nonetheless the price the British governing body must pay for its stand, after the ATP fined the organisation $1m (£820,000) and warned it faced possible expulsion should similar restrictions be imposed next summer.
Wimbledon’s decision to decline entries from the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Aryna Sabalenka was prompted by the Putin regime’s invasion of Ukraine, which is supported by Belarus.
The All England Club’s stance was met with a show of unity from the LTA, who said the participation of Russian and Belarusian nationals risked “providing a boost to these regimes when there is an unprecedented international effort to isolate them and sanction their actions”. It meant that players from the affected countries were unable to compete in tournaments at Queen’s Club, Eastbourne, Surbiton, Nottingham and Ilkley.
Both Wimbledon and the LTA have since been fined six-figure sums by the WTA, whose players were denied entry to tournaments in Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne. Legal appeals have been mounted against both fines.
In a robust statement, the LTA accused the ATP of a lack of empathy with Ukraine and said it was considering its legal position.
“The LTA is deeply disappointed with this outcome,” said an LTA statement. “The ATP, in its finding, has shown no recognition of the exceptional circumstances created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or the international sporting community and UK Government’s response to that invasion.
“The ATP appear to regard this matter as a straightforward breach of their rules – with a surprising lack of empathy shown for the situation in Ukraine, and a clear lack of understanding of the unique circumstances the LTA faced.”
The governing body warned that the financial punishments imposed by the ATP and WTA would necessitate a rethink on the staging of events scheduled for next year.
“The financial impact of both this fine and the WTA’s fine will have a material impact on the LTA’s ability to develop and host tennis in this country,” the statement continued.
“For example, we had intended to host a number of ATP Challenger level events to give more opportunities to lower ranked players in the first quarter of 2023 and will now not be able to do this, particularly given the possibility of further fines.
“We will carefully consider our response and we await the outcome of our appeal against the WTA’s decision and sanction.”
Both the ATP and the WTA stripped Wimbledon of ranking points in response to the ban, a decision that had significant repercussions for players from both organisations. Novak Djokovic, the men’s champion, would have finished the year level with Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the world rankings had he received the 2,000 points ordinarily awarded to the champion. Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, currently ranked 22nd, would have finished the year inside the top 10 and qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals.
Given that she represents Kazakhstan but was born in Moscow, Rybakina’s victory made a mockery of the All England Club’s desire to avoid a propaganda victory for the Kremlin. In the club’s defence, however, the ban was imposed under heavy pressure from the British government, whose stance was reiterated by the culture secretary, Michelle Donelan.
“Over the past year, the vast majority of the international sporting community have stood shoulder to shoulder in condemning Putin’s unprovoked and barbaric actions in Ukraine,” said Donelan in a statement.
“The UK has taken a world-leading role to build this international response. We are clear that sport cannot be used to legitimise this deadly invasion, and that athletes representing the Russian or Belarusian states should be banned from competing in other countries.
“Despite widespread condemnation, the international tennis tours are determined to be outcasts in this, with investment in the growth of our domestic game hampered as a result. This is the wrong move by the ATP and WTA. I urge them to think carefully about the message this sends, and to reconsider.”
Britain remains the only country to have ostracised Russian and Belarusian players, who have been able to compete under a neutral flag elsewhere. The ban was branded discriminatory by both the ATP and the WTA when it was announced.
“We believe that [the] unilateral decision by Wimbledon and the LTA to exclude players from Russia and Belarus from this year’s British grass-court swing is unfair and has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game,” an ATP statement said in April.That decision is now set to exact a significant financial toll as well.