He acknowledges that tennis is in a complicated situation, but Matteo Berrettini believes that the decision to deprive Wimbledon of ranking points is “not really fair” and has asked the authorities to consult the players on important decisions to come.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the All England Lawn Tennis Club and Lawn Tennis Association chose to ban all Russian and Belarusian players from grass-court events in the UK , including Wimbledon.
The ATP and WTA then retaliated by announcing that no ranking points would be offered at this year’s Championships. However, it has emerged in recent days that the ATP could “ready to restore ranking points”.
Berrettini along with world number one Novak Djokovic will be the biggest losers in this year’s grass-court Grand Slam as they made the 2021 final. Djokovic stands to drop 2,000 points after winning the title while Berrettini will drop 1 000 dots.
The Italian was asked about the decision ahead of his cinch Championships title defense at the Queen’s Club and replied: “I think it’s a very difficult situation for everyone to deal with, first of all for the people who are suffering from the war that is taking place in their country.
“In my specific case, it’s very complicated because I played well last year on grass and no matter how well I’m going to play this year, my ranking will go down so I think it’s not really just.
“But I understand that it’s a really complicated situation.
“I think [when the] ranking [system] works normally, the more you play the better you play and the higher your rank will be, but this has been removed.
“That’s what I don’t agree with, but of course we’re going through tough times and I understand it’s not easy.
“I wish this decision was made in a different way, maybe ask the players. Nobody contacted us, nobody asked our opinion on it and I think it shouldn’t work like that.
“We should avoid this kind of situation because it was the biggest decision made by the ATP in the last 20 years that I can remember. I would like it to be treated differently.