Wimbledon organisers have appealed against a fine from the Women Tennis Association (WTA) for banning Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s Championships.
It had been reported the WTA fined the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).
The sanction was for excluding Russian and Belarusian players from warm-up competitions in Eastbourne, Nottingham and Birmingham this summer.
AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton told reporters on Monday the organisation is “deeply disappointed” by the women’s tour’s reaction to its decision to impose the ban following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Asked about the fines, she said: “I think the first thing to say is that it is the subject of a legal process. So, I can’t comment specifically on that.”
But she added: “We stand by the decision we made, we are deeply disappointed at the reactions of the tours to that decision and I probably can’t say anything more on that at this time, I’m afraid.
Asked if the AELTC would appeal, she said: “Yes, we have appealed.”
Bolton said AELTC was waiting to hear from the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) on its decision on whether or not to fine the Championships over the ban.
Earlier this year, both the WTA and ATP criticised Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players.
The ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation (ITF) all announced in May that the governing bodies would not award ranking points for this year’s Wimbledon in response to the ban.
Bolton said: “We thought really, really long and hard about that decision. It was an incredibly difficult and challenging decision to make.
“But it was absolutely the right decision for us. It was the only viable option in the context of the Government guidance in place and we stand by that decision.”(dpa/NAN)
