Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the argument Wimbledon used to veto the participation of Russian and Belarusian tennis players in the 2022 edition. The world’s tennis organizations, the ATP (male circuit), WTA (Women’s Tour) at International Tennis Federation ITF (wheelchair and juniors in this event) has announced that the contest of All England Club will not award world ranking points in any category.
the serbian Novak Djokovic He supported the reaction of the establishments against the unilateral decision of the British Grand Slam, although he was in favor of not deducting all the points achieved in 2021. In his case, 2,000 as champion. Even the amount has frozen because it happened during the most difficult period of the coronavirus pandemic. the canadian Denis Shapovalov He also suggested keeping the share of points, not condemning everyone who had a good competition twelve months ago at ‘0’.
Rafa Nadal underlined the difficulty of the subject in an individual sport such as tennis. “All I will do is accept the decisions that have been made. I respect all parties, both Wimbledon and the ATP, that are protecting its members. I just want them to sit down to negotiate and find a better solution for to all. ” . He made sure that in any case he would not mind what was ATP Board, who chose to remove the ranking points.
And what does Benoît Paire paint in all of this? He is a professional tennis player, 33 years old and number 78 in the ranking. A controversial character who was even punished by the French federation, which left him with Tokyo Olympics despite being classified.
The player who met Covid’s hardest season that he only played to collect a check, that he allowed himself to win a game without consideration by throwing all of his serves in the last game, that he spit mockingly on the clay or had it with the referees, wanted to get involved in the matter of Russia, Wimbledon and ATP.
No one asked him about it, but he decided to hold his own press conference. He asked to appear in the media. “I want to talk about Wimbledon. I want to know if the ATP will defend the players or Russia. That’s why I want to talk to you. Because we’re going to play a tournament without any points. When some had covid., we didn’t say the whole tournament should be canceled. “
He charged the ATP decision: “We have four or five Russian players, included Medvedev, and we will fight at Wimbledon. It’s a pity, because if we listen to all the players, they won’t understand. 99 percent want points. So I want to know if the ATP wants to defend its players or Russia. “
After the speech in English, the questions in French. “We tennis players are in the middle of a conflict between ATP and Wimbledon. It is easy to say that it was voted on by the ATP Council. Honestly, no one knows. We were told that the prize money at Wimbledon would be reduced because there were no points. I feel sorry for the Russians and Russians, but they are the ones who are bothering me. And in the end they also won because Medvedev could be number one. We are the players from other countries that have been sanctioned. “
Will he go to Wimbledon? “Yes, to pick up the check and because I have an exhibit. I’m going quietly with my family.”
And he continues to ‘crack’ the ATP: “For four or five (Russian) tennis players, everyone else is punished.”
This was reported by Paire, at his own risk. He wanted to hold a press conference that was not requested.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
