Azarenka slams Wimbledon ban

Former world No1 Victoria Azarenka wants a ‘reaction’ against Wimbledon from the women’s tour in response to player bans this year.

The Belarusian is a member of the WTA’s player council and said she had been in on 12 hours of meetings taking place at the madrid open.

Azarenka, a double Australian open champion, is an influential voice and is clearly unhappy with the decision to exclude her compatriots and the russians.

‘There should be a reaction to that. If you are asking me if I agree with Wimbledon or see their reasoning after being on a personal call with them, I don’t see their reasoning,’ she said. ‘It does not make sense.’

She was among those from Belarus and russia who had a long Zoom call with Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton, who laid out the All england Club’s position. At least one other top player had a lawyer with them and Bolton also had legal representation present.

Asked if she would go to court, Azarenka (right) said: ‘I am not sure. It is a complicated issue.’ She also reiterated: ‘I will never support war, I will never find any justifications for that.’

The WTA and ATP will not rush their response to russians and Belarusians being banned from all British events — a move which goes against their policy of letting those from pariah states compete as individuals. The idea of stripping UK tournaments of ranking points has been discussed, but it would face considerable opposition.

Ukrainian player Dayana Yastremska said yesterday: ‘For sure if they take points away, many players are going to start being very angry.’

Asked how she felt about Wimbledon’s stance, she replied: ‘How would I be able to play against those players when all the world is talking about the war against Ukraine? I think the decision Wimbledon are making is right.’