Wimbledon organisers have lifted the ban on Russian and Belarusian gamers competing at SW19 which might see a flurry of gamers return for essentially the most anticipated Grand Slam of the yr after skipping the event in 2022. The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) have lifted the ban it imposed final yr on Russian and Belarusian gamers, "subject to competing as neutral athletes" and complying with sure situations.
The ATP and the WTA opted to penalise Wimbledon for its resolution to exclude Russian and Belarusian gamers from the event by stripping rating factors from the event final yr.
In their statements, each the ATP and WTA burdened that by banning Russian and Belarusian gamers, Wimbledon have breached their rankings agreements.
The resolution proved to be extremely controversial, with one former Ukrainian participant, Alexander Dolgopolov, criticising it. In addition, over 90 gamers had been against the plans. Express Sport seems to be on the high-profile gamers who determined to drag out after the factors had been stripped and what occurred subsequent.
Pouille was incensed with the choice and referred to as it an "injustice" after talking concerning the results it had on tons of of tennis gamers, versus simply those flying the Ukrainian flag. At the time, he was one hundred and sixty fifth within the ATP rankings.
He advised L’Equipe: “I was in no way associated with his decision which I do not agree with. I understand the frustration of the Russian players and the injustice of it, I know they have nothing to do with it, but now there is an injustice for 240 players instead of 12. We can’t all pay the consequences. I do not know how the players are going to react.
“It was never a unanimous decision, that I know. We don’t even know if there was a vote. In any case, all the players I have spoken to are against it.
The French star has since been battling against depression and issues related to alcohol consumption, falling outside the top 450 players in the world. Back in 2016, Pouille had reached a career high No 10 in the world when he was just 22, but the rigours of being a tennis player have taken its toll on the 29-year-old.
For those who have been under a rock, Osaka has not been seen on a tennis court since ending her 2022 season early in September. Before that, she decided to pull out of Wimbledon over the points row and was forced to due to an Achilles injury.
Days after her withdrawal from the Australian Open in January, the four-time Grand Slam champion announced that she was expecting her first child with boyfriend Cordae but vowed to return to tennis in 2024.
And the 25-year-old has provided an update on her hopes of a comeback, telling WBS in Japan that she had her eye on winning more Grand Slam titles. “I definitely plan to come back,” she confirmed.
Likening her being pregnant to a break, Osaka continued: “It's kind of like a break a little bit, but also I feel very competitive still. I really want to win more slams.”
Bouchard adopted the lead of Osaka in withdrawing from competition for Wimbledon, though she indicated her damage issues had performed as a lot a component in her resolution too.
“Due to my shoulder surgery, I get a limited number of protected ranking entries," Eugenie Bouchard wrote on Twitter as she explained her reasons for withdrawing from Wimbledon.
"As much as I love Wimbledon and skipping it makes me sad, using a PR entry at a tournament with no ranking points doesn’t make sense."
Bouchard, a finalist in the 2014 tournament, said she would turn her attention to the US Open and Australian Open tournaments. But the Canadian failed to make the main draw after a second round qualifying defeat at Flushing Meadows, and she also didn't make the cut in Australia either.
The Australian made it clear that there was no benefit to him travelling to Southfields for the two-week event with no ranking points on offer.
“My ambition is to make the top 100,” O’Connell stated. "If I am going to Wimbledon, then I’m in qualifying first and I waste per week there. If I occur to qualify, then I waste one other week. So, I’m talking with coaches about what I’m going to do, to be sincere. I don’t know if I’ll play."
He had never made it past the first round at Wimbledon before, so it was not a massive loss as far as the fans were concerned as he did decide to skip the tournament. The 28-year-old didn't make it past the opening round in Melbourne or in New York either in the following two Slams.
However, he had only just sneaked inside the top 100 at the time Wimbledon was held. Now, O'Connell is 78th in the world with some decent displays, including reaching the second round at the Madrid Open.
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