"Are you playing for a computer ranking" - Navratilova baffled by players open to skipping Wimbledon

Martina Navratilova is baffled that players could skip Wimbledon this year due to the decision to strip the grass-court Grand Slam of ranking points, saying it shouldn’t be about the points or the money.

The All England Club’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing at The Championships following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a ripple effect as the ATP and WTA retaliated by announcing that no ranking points will be awarded at SW19. Speaking about players willing to skip the event due to it, Navratilova said:

“First of all I couldn’t care less if there were no points given. I always played for the trophies, not the points and not the money. So for me it was Wimbledon and nothing else, everything else came in second. So the points, it’s not an exhibition. I don’t understand that view, that players wouldn’t play because there are no points. You are playing for computer ranking? I just wanted to hold that trophy, that wonderful rose dish.”

On the whole mess, Navratilova said:

“You have a player like [Andrey] Rublev – he has written on the camera ‘no to war’ and he can’t play, so it’s just there is no winning. There is no good way out of it. It’s a bad situation. A horrible situation with the war and a bad situation with Wimbledon making this rule and now another iffy decision, not giving the points.”