Wimbledon looks poised to reverse its ban on Russian and Belarusian players competing next summer after British tennis was slapped with a £823,000 fine.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was threatened with expulsion from the ATP Tour after barring male players, who hail from the two nations, from UK events following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
ATP - the men's professional tennis circuit - imposed the hefty fine after stars such as Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev were prevented from competing in tournaments at Queen’s Club, Eastbourne, Surbiton, Nottingham and Ilkley.
The punishment came after the LTA were also fined by the WTA for not allowing women from Russia and Belarus to play in British events the summer. Wimbledon was also stripped of its ranking points but the All England Club avoided a similar financial hit to the LTA despite also concluding that Russians and Belarusians could not compete at SW19 in July.
And Wimbledon chiefs will now convene this spring to decide whether they will lift the ban for the 2023 tournament after the other three Grand Slams in tennis allowed players from the two nations to compete under neutral flags - with no political demonstrations taking place.
The All England Club is considering whether to make a U-turn on the ban after the sanctions imposed on the LTA, who are considering their own response amidst the threat of no longer being able to host their own events.
And there is growing pressure on Wimbledon to ease their hardline stance - influenced by the UK government - against Russia regardless of whether Ukraine remains occupied with no end to the war in sight.
The LTA expressed their dismay on Wednesday at the 'surprise lack of empathy' towards Ukraine war victims after they were hit with the fine and threat of expulsion. "The LTA is deeply disappointed with this," an official statement read.
"The ATP, in its finding, has shown no recognition of the exceptional circumstances created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, or the international sporting community and UK Government's response to that invasion.
"The ATP appear to regard this matter as a straightforward breach of their rules - with a surprising lack of empathy shown for the situation in Ukraine, and a clear lack of understanding of the unique circumstances the LTA faced."
The statement continued: “We will carefully consider our response and we await the outcome of our appeal against the WTA’s decision and sanction.”