WTA makes call on stripping grass court events of rankings points

The WTA has reportedly made the call to allow ranking points to be won at grass court events in the lead-up to Wimbledon following backlash to the All England Club's ban on Russian and Belarusian players.

The tennis world has been divided since it was announced, that due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, all Russian and Belarusian athletes won't be able to compete at Wimbledon in London.

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In opposition to the ruling, the ATP tour reportedly decided that players won't be able to receive rankings points at Wimbledon.

Rafa Nadal, who sits on the ATP player council, appears to be in favour of the ATP's move and addressed the situation at the Italian Open last Wednesday.

Other big names including Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have also expressed shock at Wimbledon's ban.

Since the furore, according to a BBC report, the WTA has joined the ATP and decided players will be able to gain ranking points in grass court events in the build-up to Wimbledon.

These events include Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne.

The decision from the ATP and WTA is set to be finalised in the coming days.

Wimbledon's ban will impact such high-profile Russians as ATP World No.2 Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.

Belarusian WTA World No.7 Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka will also be banned from the grand slam.

All England Club boss defends Wimbledon ban on Russian players

Russian Medvedev was the latest player to question the ban and said he wasn't sure what was going to happen in the coming weeks.

Medvedev, returning from an injury, revealed he feels weird about the situation.

"I tried to follow what's happening because I don't have any decisions to make. It's right now about Wimbledon itself, the ATP, maybe the British government is involved," Medvedev said, ahead of his return in Geneva from a six-week layoff.

"It's a tricky situation and like every situation in life, you ask 100 players, everybody's going to give a different opinion."

However, All England Club boss Scott Lloyd has defended the controversial decision ahead of the grand slam.

"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," he told BBC Sport.

"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."

As the controversial decision was being tossed up, Wimbledon organisers claimed it would be “unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players."

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