This comes after the club banned the players due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. The ban counts for all tournament hosted by the club.

The ATP described the ban as unfair, discriminatory and sets a damaging precedent.

“We believe that today's 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.

“Discrimination based on nationality also constitutes a violation of our agreement with Wimbledon that states that player entry is based solely on ATP Rankings.

“We strongly condemn Russia's reprehensible invasion of Ukraine and stand in solidarity with the millions of innocent people affected by the ongoing war.

“Our sport is proud to operate on the fundamental principles of merit and fairness, where players compete as individuals to earn their place in tournaments based on the ATP Rankings.

“It is important to stress that players from Russia and Belarus will continue to be allowed to compete at ATP events under a neutral flag, a position that has until now been shared across professional tennis," the statement said.

“In parallel, we will continue our joint humanitarian support for Ukraine under Tennis Plays for Peace.”

Condemned the ban on players from both countries and voiced their disappointment in the decision.

“The WTA strongly condemns the actions that have been taken by Russia and its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. We continue our humanitarian relief efforts to support Ukraine through Tennis Plays for Peace.

“We are, however, very disappointed in today’s announcement by the AELTC and the LTA to ban individual athletes who are from Russia and Belarus from competing in the upcoming UK grass court events.   A fundamental principal of the WTA is that individual athletes may participate in professional tennis events based on merit and without any form of discrimination. 

“That principle is expressly set forth in our rules and has been agreed to by both AELTC and LTA.  Prohibitions against discrimination are also clearly expressed in their own rules and the Grand Slam rules.

“As the WTA has consistently stated, individual athletes should not be penalized or prevented from competing due to where they are from, or the decisions made by the governments of their countries.  Discrimination, and the decision to focus such discrimination against athletes competing on their own as individuals, is neither fair nor justified.  

“The WTA will continue to apply its rules to reject discrimination and ensure that all athletes are able to compete at our Tour events should they qualify to do so, a position that until today’s announcement has been shared across professional tennis. The WTA will be evaluating its next steps and what actions may be taken regarding these decisions.”

Some of the sport’s biggest names will not be able to play such as the men’s world number two, Daniil Medvedev and the women’s fourth seeded Aryna Sabalenka.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport