Banned stars to sue Wimbledon

A GROUP of players from Russia and Belarus have opened discussions with a law firm in Paris with a view to launching potential legal action against Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association.

The French lawyers are, according to L’Equipe, experts in human rights cases and ready to tackle the ban imposed by British tennis for this summer’s grass-court tournaments.

On a Zoom call with All England Club officials last week, at least one of the affected players already had legal representation with them.

However, they are awaiting the outcome of talks among the boards of the ATP and WTA Tours, who feel they must respond given their members have been singled out on the basis of their nationality.

The most probable sanction remains a hefty fine on the LTA, with ranking protection for the Russian and Belarusian players also likely to be offered.

Whatever the Tours decide, though, there would be nothing stopping players from coming together to try to force UK tournaments to allow them in, on the basis that anti-discrimination rules have been broken.

All the various options have been aired this week at the Madrid Open, where Andy Murray will face former US Open champion Dominic Thiem in the first round tomorrow.

Jack Draper, given a wildcard, will meet Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego today. Dan Evans is up against Argentina’s Federico Delbonis and Cam Norrie will play a qualifier.