“We saw Rublev write ‘No war please’ on camera. I think this is an important message. We want these players to play, to be able to express their feelings, even for this to reach their own people, their own country. To give your own version of the story. Generally speaking, we are for justice and freedom, and obviously against war, and we will continue to fight for these principles.”
Gaudenzi’s words come after the WTA offered to retrospectively reduce the £830,000 ($1 million) fine they hit the LTA with to £415k ($500k) if the governing body for British tennis reversed the ban this year and allowed Russian and Belarusian players like Aussie Open champion Aryna Sabalenka to compete in the warm-up events in Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne.
Meanwhile, the LTA has been faced with the threat of losing their tournament licences for events including the ATP 500 in Queen’s and Challengers in Surbiton and Ilkley if they barred players from the two countries again this year. The body has been threatened with expulsion from both tours if they bring back the ban, which would see their licences removed and likely be placed on the open market for other nation’s tennis bodies to purchase and stage the events overseas.
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