“Everyone’s still showing up.” Those were the words of Andy Murray, sorry – Sir Andrew Murray – when asked about the prospects of playing Wimbledon as a kind of exhibition tournament later this month. Murray believes that the allure of the Grand Slam event will bring the world’s best male and tennis players to SW19 from the 27th of June to the 10th of July.
If you aren’t aware of what has happened, we can fill you in: The organisers of Wimbledon decided to ban Russian and Belarussian tennis players from the 2022 event due to the war in Ukraine. The All England Lawn Tennis Club had been under pressure from the British government, and it claimed it was forced to take the steps in line with government policy. Global tennis authorities disagreed, and decided to strip Wimbledon of its status as a ranking event. As such, Wimbledon 2022 isn’t recognised as a professional tennis tournament.
Russian star would have been a favourite for the men’s title
It’s an extraordinary set of affairs, and one that seems to have no easy resolution. Broadly speaking, the players disagree with the decision, believing that individual players should not be blamed for what is going on in Eastern Europe. But the tournament organisers also have their hands tied vis-à-vis UK government policy. Several high-profile Russian and Belarussian players will miss the tournament, including Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka, who would have been among the favourites in the betting for the men’s and women’s tournaments respectively.
Nonetheless, the show will go on. And it would be surprising to see Wimbledon bereft of many of the top stars of the game due to the removal of ranking points. The allure of winning the Grand Slam will surely be enough to negate any worries about not getting rankings points. And if we are cynical about it, the pull of over £35 million in prize money will definitely play a part in helping players make up their minds.
Retirements and injuries mean some big names will be missing
Unfortunately, there will be some big names missing from the tournament due to reasons not related to the Ukraine war. Roger Federer is very unlikely to play, as many fans wonder whether the Swiss legend will get a chance to bow out from his wonderful career. The reigning women’s champion, Ash Barty, has retired from tennis. Serena Williams also looks unlikely to play.
And yet, tennis is going through a transitionary era at the top. The likes of Williams and Federer were already on the precipice of retirement. Indeed, they last played at Wimbledon last year. There is a new generation ready to take over. Every player currently ranked in the women’s top 5 is aged 26 or under, led by 21-year-old world number one Iga Swiatek. While Novak Djokovic (35) and Rafael Nadal (35) still dominate the narrative in the men’s game, the likes of Alexander Zverev (25), Stefanos Tsitsipas (23) and Carlos Alcaraz (19) are challenging their dominance.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of all is how Wimbledon 2022 will be remembered in the history books. Will there be an asterisk beside the winners’ names? Will winning in 2022 be considered less of an achievement than in previous years? Most fans wouldn’t think so. You can be sure whoever wins will consider it equal to every other Grand Slam on the calendar, regardless of what happens with ranking points. As for those who matter – the fans – you can be sure that they won’t be thinking about any of this come the 27th of June.
