Japanese tennis ace Naomi Osaka has refused to confirm if she will compete at this summer’s Wimbledon after the ATP and WTA stripped the event of its rankings points this year, following the All England Club’s decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus from competing.
The annual grass court showpiece, which is the third Grand Slam of the year, has effectively been changed into an exhibition tournament after the decision was made not to award rankings points for the event – largely due to concerns that a full field of players wouldn’t be eligible to compete.
The decision has had knock-on effects, however. Several of the sport’s top stars look set to tumble in the rankings irrespective of their performances in London, as it will mean that they are unable to defend rankings points scored at last year’s tournament.
Ironically, this will likely mean that Russia’s Daniil Medvedev could well return to the top of the men’s rankings without hitting a ball at Wimbledon – even if last year’s winner (and current top-ranked player) Novak Djokovic repeats his victory this summer.
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