Wimbledon organisers have been fined by the Women’s Tennis Association for banning Russian and Belarusian players from this summer’s grass court events.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has been fined £207,000 and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) £620,000 after stopping athletes compete at Wimbledon and in warm-up tournaments.
Both the All England Club and LTA and have appealed against the fines.
The fines will have to be paid in full before any hearings can take place.
AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton told reporters on Monday the organisation is “deeply disappointed” by the Association’s reaction.
Asked about the fines, she said: “I think the first thing to say is that it is the subject of a legal process so I can’t comment specifically on that.”
But she added: “We stand by the decision we made, we are deeply disappointed at the reactions of the Association to that decision and I probably can’t say anything more on that at this time, I’m afraid.”
Asked if the AELTC would appeal, she said: “Yes, we have appealed.”
