In the early morning of April 21, Beijing time, the All England Club issued an official statement, deciding to ban players from Russia and Belarus from participating during this year's Wimbledon period. This decision will deprive famous players such as Medvedev, Rublev, Sabarenka and Azarenka from participating in this year's Wimbledon Championships.
After the official statement of the All England Club, the ATP official responded quickly, and this time the ATP official chose to side with the athletes. In a statement, they said Wimbledon's unilateral exclusion of athletes from both countries from this year's British grass season was grossly unfair and likely to set a devastating precedent for the sport.
ATP officials noted in a statement that discrimination based on nationality violates the agreement between ATP and Wimbledon. The agreement stipulates that players compete in four Grand Slam tournaments based solely on their ATP rankings. ATP officials will evaluate in consultation with the Board of Directors and the Board of Members and then take action in response to this decision.
At the end of the statement, the ATP once again emphasized that players from Russia and Belarus will continue to play in various ATP Tour tournaments as neutral players in the future, "this position is the consensus of the professional tennis community so far." ”