Medvedev may become No.1 after being banned from Wimbledon

U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev acknowledged it’s “very strange”that he could rise to No. 1 in the rankings as a result of not being allowed to play at Wimbledon.

The Russian, ranked second behind Novak Djokovic, began his French Open campaign with a straight-set victory on Tuesday but the All England Club’s decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus from Wimbledon because of the invasion of Ukraine was still the main talking point.

In response to the ban, the ATP and the WTA women’s tour announced they would not award ranking points to any players for results at Wimbledon.

That means all players who earned ranking points at Wimbledon in 2021 — Djokovic earned the maximum 2,000 for taking the championship

— will have those erased from their record as part of the usual 52-week system that counts someone’s best 19 tournaments over that span. Djokovic is currently 680 points ahead of Medvedev but the Serb could also lose ranking points if he fails to defend his French Open title. Wimbledon begins on June 27. “Very strange,” Medvedev said of the situation, after beating Facundo Bagnis 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.“I need to be honest. But yeah, as I said last time, I’d be really happy to play Wimbledon.

“But if I cannot, I mean, just going to prepare for next tournaments and ... just follow what’s happening there. There are no points, I become No. 1, well great for me. If there are points, I cannot become No. 1, I’m going to be gutted. It is what it is. I cannot change some decisions, both about ATP and Wimbledon.”