What are the main factors behind this decision?
Protecting the integrity of our sport was the primary factor. Our sport is built upon merit-based tournament entry and a level playing field for all players, free from discrimination. It was also important to avoid setting a precedent of unilateral decision-making by events. Our Tour can only operate and thrive as a viable sport under shared principles of governance.

How can you take points from Wimbledon and not the ATP events?
Wimbledon stands alone in its position in the calendar, with no concurrent events running alongside it. Compromising the fairness of player entries therefore compromises the fairness of the entire rankings system. It is also a reality that as one of the biggest events in our sport, Wimbledon will continue to operate and attract players with or without ranking points.

Removing ranking points at ATP Tour events brings a significant risk of these events not running at all. This would have damaging consequences for many players and fans, through the loss of valuable playing and earning opportunities. In addition, there are alternative ATP Tour events open to Russian and Belarusian players in those weeks. This reduces the impact on fairness in the rankings.

Was there no other solution? Why didn’t you opt to just give ranking protection to the excluded players?
As the governing body of the sport, our duty is to maintain the integrity of our Tour and the ranking system that upholds it. Removing rankings points at Wimbledon is a decision made purely on the basis of maintaining a level playing field for our players across the season. Providing ranking protection to the Russian and Belarusian players would not have done so in an adequate manner.

You have said the players were more amenable to the alternative option under the informal guidance from UK government, under which they would be required to sign a declaration. Is that not dangerous?
Among other requirements, the alternative option required players to declare they would not ‘express support for the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian or Belarusian regimes, or their leadership’. It’s important to clarify that there was no requirement to denounce the Russian regime – a risk that’s unrealistic to expect any player to take.

The informal guidance specifically states: “the Government is not seeking a statement that is critical of the Russian regime, to avoid the potential for any undue personal risk being incurred by the sportspeople involved.”

Our discussions with Russian and Belarusian players made it clear that this alternative option would have been preferred. We understand LTA and Wimbledon had concerns about this course of action, however, we also note this option is currently being offered to Player Support Team members from Russia or Belarus.

We would also like to highlight Point 1 of the guidance, which states: “With regard to the participation of individuals in sporting events, the Government’s aim is to minimise the ability of Russian and Belarussian individuals to be seen to represent their nation – and therefore deliver reputational and other benefits by association – without unduly penalising those who truly intend to participate in an entirely neutral capacity.“

The bottom line is there were various options on the table, and a joint decision should have been reached together. Instead, the decision was made in isolation.

How does this leave the relationship between ATP and these tournaments?
It’s important to stress that the LTA have been an exemplary member of the Tour for many years, and we’ve had a strong relationship with Wimbledon for many years. We take no joy in today’s decision. We understand the difficult decisions they faced in responding to the UK government’s guidance. That said, in our role as governing body we must consider the wider implications on fairness for the whole Tour. Our decision was taken to prevent a damaging and unsustainable precedent being set, not to punish these events for their response to this devastating crisis.

Is it not fair on the players that compete and do well at Wimbledon?
Our decision is based around the need to maintain rankings fairness across the player group as a whole. To maintain fairness, some sacrifices and compromises are unfortunately required.

What will happen to the points earned at Wimbledon last year?
Points earned at Wimbledon in 2021 will drop from players’ rankings as per ATP rules (52 weeks after the previous year’s event). As such, no points from Wimbledon will remain in a player’s ranking breakdown after this year’s event.

How much involvement did the players have in this decision to remove points from Wimbledon?
We’ve had extensive consultation with the Player Council, which represents the interests of the wider player group, as well as Russian and Belarusian players. In general, our conversations have stressed that this is a time to put self-interest to one side and to understand the broader picture for tennis.

Of course, we know that not all players will agree with the position we’ve taken. Our ongoing dialogue with Ukrainian players over the last months has made their position on the matter clear, for example. Our hope is that they can understand these rules are in place to protect the integrity of competition, which is fundamental to tennis.

What does this say about collaboration across the T7 and how can unilateral decision making like this be avoided in the future?
This matter highlights the need for a unified governance structure across tennis. We have and will continue to strongly advocate for this in our discussions across the sport, which we believe will serve as a net positive for all.

What happens if other tournaments or countries end up banning Russian/Belarusian players later in the season? Will you take the same stance?
Each situation will need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. There are many factors that go into determining the most appropriate response. On principle, we cannot accept unilateral decision making or discrimination by individual tournaments as this would set a damaging precedent for the wider Tour. We also note that to date, the UK summer events are the only tournaments to take such a position.

Circumstances certainly change if bans are mandated by local governments. As with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, any government rules would supersede ATP Tour rules. Our response in such instances would also need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

What is ATP’s position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
We are unequivocal in condemning Russia’s unprovoked, abhorrent and senseless invasion of Ukraine. We are also resolute in our support of the Ukrainian people. Through Tennis Plays for Peace and direct financial assistance for many affected players, we hope to support the people of Ukraine through this tragic time.

What is the expected sanction for the LTA?
Any sanction issued to LTA will be assessed in accordance with the measures available under ATP governance. This can include financial penalties as well as an assessment of membership status via a hearing. In the event of a financial penalty, funds would be donated to the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

Explain why maintaining the integrity of the Rankings system is so important to ATP and the wider player group?
The rankings underpin the entire season together and ensure its fairness. Maintaining ranking points at a tournament like Wimbledon, which carries the highest level of ranking points, when the event is not open to all players, would have major knock-on effects. It would lead to a significant distortion in determining which players can enter tournaments, seedings, qualification for the year-end Finals, year-end Bonus Pool, and year-end Ranking positions. This would undermine the credibility and integrity of our sport.

Do the Russian and Belarusian players support the move you have made?
This decision has not been made at the request of Russian or Belarusian players. There is no self-interest behind this decision. Instead, we are taking a wider collective view – protecting the rights of the player group as a whole, no matter their nationality or place of birth, across our Tour.

Wimbledon has said they are concerned with their tournament being used as propaganda by the Russian regime. Do you not understand their concerns?
Sport undoubtedly has outsized influence in world affairs, and it’s true that the successes of athletes have been lauded by the Russian regime. However, we cannot be certain that the decision to ban athletes is itself without negative consequences on this front. In fact, Russian exclusion by the rest of the world is consistently used as a proof point by the Russian propaganda machine in building nationalistic sentiment, justifying and rallying support domestically for the war in Ukraine.

Instead, we believe in the unifying power of sport, a view shared by many of our players. Many of the players affected by this decision in fact expressed a strong desire to use Wimbledon’s platform to promote solidarity and peace.

More broadly, we do not believe that individuals should be penalised on the basis of collective guilt due to the reprehensible actions of an autocratic government. This was a shared position across our sport when the decision was made in March 2022 to allow players from Russia and Belarus to continue to compete on the Tour as neutral athletes.

In addition, having individual tournaments make determinations about which conflicts or world events are deserving of action, and which are not, is deeply subjective and impossible to apply with consistency across our global Tour. This threatens to fracture our Tour and sow deep divisions. Instead, these judgements should be made as a collective under shared governance.

The ability for players of any nationality to enter tournaments based on merit, and without discrimination, is fundamental to our Tour. The decision by Wimbledon to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing in the UK this summer undermines this principle and the integrity of the ATP Ranking system. It is also inconsistent with our Rankings agreement. Absent a change in circumstances, it is with great regret and reluctance that we see no option but to remove ATP Ranking points from Wimbledon for 2022.

Our rules and agreements exist in order to protect the rights of players as a whole. Unilateral decisions of this nature, if unaddressed, set a damaging precedent for the rest of the Tour. Discrimination by individual tournaments is simply not viable on a Tour that operates in more than 30 countries.

We greatly value our long-standing relationships with Wimbledon and the LTA and do not underestimate the difficult decisions faced in responding to recent UK Government guidance. However, we note that this was informal guidance, not a mandate, which offered an alternative option that would have left the decision in the hands of individual players competing as neutral athletes through a signed declaration. Our internal discussions with affected players in fact led us to conclude this would have been a more agreeable option for the Tour. We remain hopeful of further discussions with Wimbledon leading to an acceptable outcome for all concerned. More broadly, we believe this matter again highlights the need for a united governance structure across professional tennis so that decisions of this nature can be made in a joint manner.

Separately, as previously announced, we confirm that ranking points will remain at ATP Tour events at Queen’s (ATP 500), Eastbourne (ATP 250) and ATP Challenger events in the UK. We have taken this decision on the basis that alternative playing opportunities are open to Russian and Belarusian players in those weeks, unlike during Wimbledon, which minimises any impact on the integrity of the rankings. Sanctions related to LTA’s violation of ATP rules will be assessed separately.

Our condemnation of Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine remains unequivocal. Immediate action was taken to suspend the ATP Tour event in Moscow and have Russian and Belarusian athletes compete under neutral flags on Tour. In parallel, we have continued our humanitarian support for Ukraine, together with the other governing bodies of tennis, as well as providing direct financial assistance to many affected players.

Top seed Cameron Norrie survived a second-set dip to reach his third ATP Tour final of the season Friday, edging #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon.

The Briton led by a break in the second set, before the 19-year-old demonstrated his fighting qualities to force a decider. However, in windy conditions, the 26-year-old regained his focus in the third set to triumph after two hours and three minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

“It is never easy to close a match. I had a break in the second and then gifted a couple easy ones. I was pretty mad inside but I managed to stay composed,” Norrie said in his on-court interview. “I was telling myself to stay positive and I managed to play the two best games of the match in the last two games. It is nice to get over the line when the nerves are there and you want to be in the final again.”

Norrie, who eliminated Francisco Cerundolo and Sebastian Baez earlier this week, has now reached consecutive finals in Lyon, having lost to Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas last year. Rune was aiming to lift his second tour-level trophy in the south of France after clinching the Munich crown in April.

Norrie captured the title in Delray Beach in February, before he fell to Rafael Nadal in the championship match in Acapulco. The World No. 11 will continue the quest for his maiden clay-court title when he plays Alex Molcan in the final at the ATP 250 event on Saturday.

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The Slovakian downed Australian Alex de Minaur 7-6(2), 6-2 in one hour and 48 minutes to advance to his third ATP Tour final.

“It was very tight. I survived in the first set and in the tie-break he helped me with some misses, which helped me a lot to win the first set,” Molcan said. “In the second set I was playing solid and didn’t make many mistakes. I am really happy.”

Molcan has yet to drop a set in Lyon and now holds a 9-2 tour-level record on clay in 2022. The 24-year-old, who is up to No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, lost to David Goffin in the championship match in Marrakech last month.

The lefty will be aiming to clinch his maiden tour-level title when he faces Norrie on Saturday.

Roger Federer is targeting the Laver Cup in late September as his return to the ATP Tour and has ambitions to play Wimbledon in 2023. Tony Godsick, Federer’s longtime agent, revealed the comeback plan in an interview this week with the London Evening Standard.

“He’s exactly where he wants to be but unfortunately it takes time,” Godsick said. “He’s going to play Laver Cup and Swiss Indoors… I don’t want to be the doctor but what I hope for him is to able to have a great rehab this summer, play some in the fall and give a nice shot at 2023, and then see what happens…

“Could he add a tournament before then? Maybe yes, but more likely after that. He doesn’t want to commit to anything too soon before having to pull out… But the Laver Cup is enough time that, if all goes well with rehab events, he can get back for.”

The Laver Cup will be played 23-25 September at The O2 in London. (Get tickets)

Federer, 40, has not played since a quarter-final loss to Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon last year. A winner of 103 tour-level titles, Federer first stepped off tour in February 2020. In his only appearance of that season, the Swiss reached the Australian Open semi-finals before undergoing two surgeries on his right knee.

After more than a year away from the game the 28-time ATP Masters 1000 champion played two matches in Dubai in March 2021, and one match in Geneva in May leading into Roland Garros, where he withdrew before a fourth-round match against Matteo Berrettini. Federer then reached the second round in Halle, where he has won the title 10 times, before a quarter-final run at Wimbledon, after which he underwent a third procedure on his knee.

“He won’t rush back this time. He will have to be 100 per cent and know he’s 100 per cent and that’s why he’s taking his time doing heavy rehab and training,” Godsick said. “It’s not just when the knee feels good but building up the muscles and getting lungs back. I know he’s encouraged where he is.”

An eight-time champion at the All England Club, Federer will miss this year’s Championships but Godsick said the 20-time Grand Slam champion would like to make at least one more appearance on the hallowed lawns.

“It was a great effort last year on one leg,” Godsick said. “I think he’d like another Wimbledon. That place has been incredibly special to him.”

Reigning Gonet Geneva Open champion Casper Ruud moved to within one win of retaining his title Friday, blunting big-serving American Reilly Opelka 7-6(2), 7-5 to reach the final in Switzerland.

The Norwegian, who beat Denis Shapovalov in the Geneva final last year, demonstrated great agility against Opleka as he soaked up the World No. 18’s thunderous groundstrokes in the lively conditions to extend his perfect ATP Head2Head series record against the fourth seed to 4-0.

Ruud has yet to drop a set this week, having arrived at the ATP 250 event off the back of a run to the semi-finals in Rome. By reaching the final after 90-minutes, the second seed is the first player to advance to multiple Geneva championship matches since home favourite Stan Wawrinka lifted the trophy in 2016 and 2017.

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The 23-year-old, currently No. 9 in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin, is aiming to capture his second tour-level title of the season after clinching the crown in Buenos Aires in February.

Ruud has won five of the past six ATP 250 clay-court events he has played and will look to improve that record when he faces Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the final on Saturday.

Sousa overcame former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-2 to advance to his 12th ATP Tour final, but first on clay since 2018, when he lifted the trophy on home soil in Estoril.

It is the second time the 33-year-old has reached the championship match in Geneva, after enjoying a run to the final in 2015. Sousa captured his fourth tour-level crown in Pune in February.

#NextGenATP star Chun-hsin Tseng will make his main-draw debut at Roland Garros after defeating German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-3, 6-3 in the third qualifying round on Friday.

Tseng of Chinese Taipei has captured two ATP Challenger Tour titles this season and is currently seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Milan. The 20-year-old, who did not drop a set in qualifying, broke Stebe five times to advance after one hour and 41 minutes.

Tseng made his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open in January, losing to Oscar Otte in the first round.

Slovakian Norbert Gombos booked his spot in the main draw in Paris for the third time, overcoming Dutchman Tim Van Rijthoven 7-6(6), 7-6(5) in one hour and 42 minutes. The World No. 115 upset Croatian Borna Coric en route to the third round at Roland Garros in 2020.

In his third qualifying attempt, Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas reached the main draw in Paris with a hard-fought 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(10-5) triumph over Chile’s Nicolas Jarry. Varillas, who lost in qualifying at the Australian Open in January, rallied from a break down in the third set to advance after two hours and 56 minutes.

Andrey Kuznetsov will make his sixth Roland Garros appearance after he downed Argentine Marco Trungelliti 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. The World No. 227 reached the third round in Paris in 2015.

American Bjorn Fratangelo secured his spot with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Nino Serdarusic. The 28-year-old also came through qualifying last year, before he lost to Briton Cameron Norrie in the first round.

Pavel Kotov, who won an ATP Challenger Tour title in January, overcame Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-2, while Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli defeated American Alexander Ritschard 7-6(6), 6-2. It is the first time the 22-year-old has qualified for a Grand Slam.

Frenchman Geoffrey Blancaneaux broke new ground by qualifying for his home Grand Slam for the first time in what was his sixth attempt. The 23-year-old downed Daniel Masur 6-1, 6-3 in 69 minutes.