ATP fines Britain’s LTA for banning Russian and Belarusian players from competing at 2022 Wimbledon Championships

Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has been fined £820,000 ($1.49 million) by the ATP on Wednesday for their ban on Russian and Belarusian players.

The said players were barred from competing across five events, namely the Queen’s Club, Eastbourne, Surbiton, Nottingham and Ilkley; a decision that cost them a £164,018 ($200,284) fine per event. The All England Club also decided to ban them from Wimbledon, which led the ATP and WTA to strip the tournament of its ranking points.

In response, the LTA, in a statement, said that they were "deeply disappointed" with ATP's actions.

"The LTA is deeply disappointed with this outcome. The ATP, in its findings, has shown no recognition of the exceptional circumstances created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or the international sporting community and UK Government’s response to that invasion," the statement said.

"The ATP appear to regard this matter as a straightforward breach of their rules – with a surprising lack of empathy shown for the situation in Ukraine and a clear lack of understanding of the unique circumstances the LTA faced," it added.

The LTA stated that the financial impact of the fines will affect their ability to "develop and host tennis" in the future.

"The financial impact of both this fine and the WTA’s fine will have a material impact on the LTA’s ability to develop and host tennis in this country. For example, we had intended to host a number of ATP Challenger level events to give more opportunities to lower ranked players in the first quarter of 2023 and will now not be able to do this, particularly given the possibility of further fines," they expressed.

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) previously fined the Lawn Tennis Association the same amount for excluding players from its grasscourt events, a decision they said has been appealed.

“We will carefully consider our response and we await the outcome of our appeal against the WTA’s decision and sanction.”

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UK Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan takes a swipe at ATP and WTA for their imposing fines on LTA

A general view of the Wimbledon centre court.

UK's Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has responded to the Lawn Tennis Association being fined by the ATP and WTA on Wednesday, calling it a "wrong move" and urging them to reconsider their decision.

"The UK has taken a world-leading role to build this international response. We are clear that sport cannot be used to legitimise this deadly invasion, and that athletes representing the Russian or Belarusian states should be banned from competing in other countries," she said, in a statement.

"Despite widespread condemnation, the international tennis tours are determined to be outcasts in this, with investment in the growth of our domestic game hampered as a result. This is the wrong move by the ATP and WTA. I urge them to think carefully about the message this sends and to reconsider," she added.