‘Outright civil war’ in tennis as Wimbledon faces up to Putin

Furious tennis authorities condemn ‘discriminatory and unfair’ ban of Russian and Belarusian players

Russian player Daniil Medvedev is the world No.2 in men’s tennis
Russian player Daniil Medvedev is the world No.2 in men’s tennis
(Image credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s tournament has prompted predictable outrage, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. But no one expected it to plunge the sport into “outright civil war”: the bodies that run the men’s and women’s tours – the ATP and WTA – have both issued furious statements, condemning the move as “discriminatory and unfair”. There has even been talk of them withdrawing ranking points from the tournament, effectively turning it into an “exhibition event”.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us