Women close to Wimbledon points deal

THE Women’s Tennis Association are close to a compromise deal in the Wimbledon ranking points row that should prevent a boycott of this year’s event. Naomi Osaka raised the prospect of players pulling out of SW19 after the WTA joined the ATP in removing the ranking points on offer, in response to the banning of Russians and Belarusians. Players are unhappy at the loss of points as it means those who performed well last year will see their ranking plunge, irrespective of how they fare at Wimbledon. Last year’s beaten finalist Karolina Pliskova would lose 1,200 ranking points, for example, and Emma Raducanu would also lose out after reaching the fourth round. The WTA have been talking to players and are close to a deal that would see them keep half of last year’s points. The decision is due to be signed off by the WTA’s board in the next few days. The ATP, by contrast, are staying firm in their stand-off with male players and are adamant no points will be retained from last year. Wimbledon’s entry list came out last night with a full quota of players listed to play with the expected exception of the injured Roger Federer, but players can still pull out in the coming weeks.