The chiefs of British tennis are set to scrap their controversial ban on Russian and Belarusian players ahead of this year\u2019s Wimbledon championships, according to media reports.<\/p>\n
The United Kingdom\u2019s governing Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) came under pressure from the British government to impose a ban following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine last year.<\/p>\n
Russian and Belarusian players were eventually barred from all five ATP tournaments staged by the LTA, including the longstanding Queen\u2019s Club event in London.<\/p>\n
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which runs Wimbledon, imposed a similar suspension.<\/p>\n
However, Britain\u2019s Daily Telegraph reported that “all expectations suggest that the AELTC will lower the ban on Russians and Belarusians\u201d.<\/p>\n
It added players from those countries may need to sign a declaration promising they will not \u201cpromote or glorify\u201d Russia president Vladimir Putin\u2019s war in any way during the tournament.<\/p>\n
The ATP, which runs the men\u2019s professional tour, responded to last year\u2019s ban by hitting British tennis with a $1 million fine, split between a $750,000 punishment for the LTA and a $250,000 penalty for the AELTC.<\/p>\n
Both the ATP and the Women\u2019s Tennis Association also stripped Wimbledon of its ranking points.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the women\u2019s singles title was won by Russian-born Elena Rybakina representing Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n
There are now fears that if the ban remains in place, leading events such as Queen\u2019s and Eastbourne could be removed from Britain, with yet more huge fines to follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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