Iga Swiatek calls for unity over Wimbledon ban to avoid ‘chaos’
World number one Iga Swiatek has called for the tennis governing bodies to unite, as she argued that the aftermath of the Wimbledon ban is becoming “more and more chaotic.”
Last week, The All England Club (AELTC) and Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) announced that due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to compete at grass-court events in the United Kingdom, which includes Wimbledon.
The sanctions mean that the US Open champion and world number two Daniil Medvedev and world number four Aryna Sabalenka are not currently able to compete.
In addition to these top seeds, there are three more Russian men in the top 30 of the ATP rankings, and six Russian and Belarusian players in the top 32 of the WTA rankings who would have been seeds at Wimbledon.
The announcement has seen a major fallout between the governing bodies, with the ATP and WTA both releasing statements condemning the move.
They are now set to meet in Madrid to discuss sanctions for Wimbledon and the LTA, with WTA chief Steve Simon promising ‘a strong reaction’.
It is believed that the governing bodies are looking to turn Wimbledon into an ‘exhibition event’ with the rankings points for the tournament being stripped away.
In light of the fallout from the Wimbledon ban, the world number one Iga Swiatke has called for tennis’ governing bodies to come together.
Speaking in a recent interview, the 20-year-old told the Pole, “The situation is getting like more and more chaotic, I would say.
“But I feel like it would be nice to have all these bodies making the proper decision so that we’re not going to have that kind of chaos.”
Swiatek also said that felt as though pressure has been placed upon the players to come up with a solution for how to treat Russian and Belarusian players on tour.
She added, “I feel like people are expecting us players to make the decision, but it’s pretty hard for us to make one because we know these people. We know each other. We are spending so much time on tour that it feels like we’re family.”
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