MINSK, 21 April (BelTA) - The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) has condemned the decision of the Wimbledon organizers not to allow Belarusian and Russian players to participate in the tournament this year, BelTA has learned.
The ATP stated: “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. 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.”
The ATP stressed that players from Russia and Belarus would continue to be allowed to compete at ATP events under a neutral flag.
