WTA join ATP in stripping ranking points from Wimbledon, tournaments in Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne also penalised

The WTA have followed the ATP in deciding to strip ranking points away from Wimbledon as well as penalising warm-up tournaments in Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne.

These tournaments will have their WTA sanctions placed on probation but WTA ranking points will remain due to comparable and alternative playing opportunities being on offer on those weeks in other countries.

Similar to the ATP, the reason given in the statement from WTA Chief, Steve Simon is that it is done on the basis that all players have an equal opportunity to play based on merit and not discrimination and that those involved shouldn't be penalised due to the actions of the governments involved.

But also it has been said that this could yet change similar to the ATP if the bans are reversed on Russian and Belarusian players in this case including Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka on the WTA side.

Part of the statement is below:

"Nearly 50 years ago, the WTA was founded on the fundamental principle that all players have an equal opportunity to compete based on merit and without discrimination. The WTA believes that individual athletes participating in an individual sport should not be penalized or prevented from competing solely because of their nationalities or the decisions made by the governments of their countries.

"The recent decisions made by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) to ban athletes from competing in the upcoming UK grass-court events violate that fundamental principle, which is clearly embodied in the WTA rules, the Grand Slam rules and the agreement the WTA has with the Grand Slams.

"As a result of the AELTC’s position that it will not honor its obligation to use the WTA Rankings for entry into Wimbledon and proceed with a partial field not based on merit, the WTA has made the difficult decision to not award WTA ranking points for this year’s Wimbledon Championships.

"In addition, each of the WTA-sanctioned events (Nottingham, Birmingham, and Eastbourne) will be penalized and their WTA tournament sanctions will be placed on probation. Since alternative and comparable playing and ranking point opportunities exist in the same weeks as those events for the affected players, WTA ranking points will remain in place for those events."

"We remain hopeful and willing to reassess the issuance of points should we find a solution that has consensus from all parties and allows our players the opportunity to compete in a unified environment."