Azarenka calls on WTA to take action against Wimbledon

Azarenka also reiterated her previous stance against the invasion of Ukraine

Azarenka calls on WTA to take action against Wimbledon
Azarenka

Tennis star Victoria Azarenka has criticised Wimbledon and the LTA for their ban on players from Russia and Belarus at tournaments in Britain this summer, saying that it “does not make sense”.

The 32-year-old Belarusian, who won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013 and is a two-time semi-finalist at Wimbledon, is a member of the WTA Players’ Council and has been a key part of discussions between tour officials over whether to strip this year’s Wimbledon of its ranking points.

She has been part of 12 hours of talks over three days this week and urged the WTA and the ATP to act over the ban.

“I have been a part of the meetings directly with Wimbledon,” Azarenka said. “The commitment of players is there. I don’t think that I am at liberty to say what the WTA and ATP [will do]. I think there should be a reaction to that, that is all I want to say.

“It is a complicated issue. There are a lot of legalities that come with this type of decision, so I understand it is not simple. There are consequences to different actions, the one that Wimbledon takes, the one that the WTA might take. There are going to be consequences.

“If you are asking me if I agree with Wimbledon or I see their reasoning after being on a personal call with them, I don’t see their reasoning. It does not make sense and it does not connect to what they are saying.”

Azarenka is one of several players from Russia and Belarus who were invited to take part in a conference call with officials from the All England Club after the decision was made last week. When asked how the talks had progressed, her reply was telling.

“I think you should ask Sally Bolton [the chief executive] and Jamie Baker [the tournament director] about that because I would really like to hear their comments on that,” she said.

Azarenka also reiterated her previous stance against the invasion of Ukraine. “I will never, ever support war,” she said. “I will never support violence. I will never find any justifications for that.”

Ranking points are the only form of leverage that the ATP and WTA can use against Wimbledon because of its grand-slam status. The LTA is more vulnerable because the warm-up tournaments on grass are under the jurisdiction of the two tours, and could face additional fines and sanctions.

The removal of points is a severe response that would affect more than 100 players. The fields at British events would be decimated and space is limited at concurrent tournaments in Germany and the Netherlands.