‘Everyone should be playing Wimbledon’ – Nick Kyrgios dismisses lack of ranking points
Australia’s Nick Kyrgios has claimed that the ATP and WTA’s decision to strip Wimbledon of it’s ranking points will have very little impact on player participation.
In March, Wimbledon chose to ban Russian and Belarusian players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to the ATP and WTA stripping the event of ranking points.
In response to the news of no ranking points, some high-profile players, including Naomi Osaka, have subsequently questioned whether it is worth them competing at the tournament in London, which begins on 27 June.
However, this week it was announced that seven-time Wimbledon winner Serena Williams is to play the event in search of her 24th Grand Slam.
Discussing the lack of ranking points, Nick Kyrgios said it will not be a factor in player participation as he argued that the All England Club is synonymous with tennis.
Kyrgios also told reporters that with the participation of Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon, this will offset any lack of rankings points.
“It’s great. Humans always take athletes for granted, you know, Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal], Novak [Djokovic], Lebron [James], Serena [Williams], like these athletes are so rare, its amazing.
“As long as they want to keep playing we just need to keep taking it in and enjoying that because the time is nearly up for all these players.
“It is amazing to see her playing again and playing the biggest tournament in the world.
“I will add that I think this is a great example that every player should try to play Wimbledon, rather than not play for the points.
“Like, I think as a kid, you want to win Wimbledon, you want to play Wimbledon.
“Everyone that follows tennis knows what Wimbledon is, and people that even don’t follow tennis know what Wimbledon is.
“That’s a great example. Obviously, she is not worried about ranking, I understand
“But everyone should be playing Wimbledon if they can.”
🎾 Free >> Join our legendary newsletter
🎾 Join >> Receive $700/£600 of tennis gear from the Tennishead CLUB
🎾 Social >> Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube
🎾 Read >> World’s best tennis magazine
🎾 Watch >> How to enjoy ATP/WTA/Slam tennis on TV
🎾 Shop >> Lowest price tennis gear from our trusted partner