BERLIN, Dec. 7 (STATS Perform/dpa/EP) –
The British Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has been fined one million dollars (about 950,000 euros) by the ATP for having banned the participation of Russian and Belarusian players in their circuit tournaments due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The ban was imposed on players of these two nationalities, who could not participate in any of the tournaments played on British soil on the grass tour, including Wimbledon, breaking the agreement that had been reached between the organizations and the four ‘Grand Slams’. ‘ to let them participate as neutrals.
In a statement, the LTA said it was “deeply disappointed” and accused the ATP of failing to acknowledge “exceptional circumstances created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or the international sports community and the UK Government’s response to that invasion.”
“The ATP appears to regard this matter as a direct violation of its rules, with a surprising lack of empathy shown for the situation in Ukraine and a clear lack of understanding of the unique circumstances faced by the LTA,” he added.
The Association stressed that this hefty fine will prevent it from holding smaller events to give opportunities to lower-ranked players, and announced that plans for Challenger circuit events will be scrapped.
It must be remembered that the women’s professional circuit, the WTA, had already imposed a fine for this ban on Russian and Belarusian players playing, which was already appealed by the LTA.