Wimbledon 2022-or Fumbledon?

[Stavros]

Here comes the dilemma...Bans. No, not Raybans, but player bans.

One theory is that it would be embarrassing for the Duchess of Cambridge to hand the winner's trophy to a player from Russia or Belarus; another that it is a genuine sign of support for Ukraine versus Russia. A third reason could be the prospect of Russian players being booed by the crowd on Centre Court, where one assumes Medvedev is one day destined to play, or not. Either way, it is a mess. We could spend all day listing the countries whose daily abuse of human rights we object to, but whose citizens play tennis.

I don't know what the solution is. An oath of loyalty to freedom by all the players?

Serve!

"“In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with the Championships,” it added.The Lawn Tennis Association, which runs all the other major summer grass court tournaments in Britain, including the prestigious Queen’s Club event, has also announced a ban.
Those set to miss out include the men’s world No 8, Andrey Rublev, who wrote “No war please” on a TV camera lens after a match in Dubai, and the two-times women’s grand-slam champion Victoria Azarenka."
Wimbledon on collision course with tennis world after player ban | Wimbledon | The Guardian

[Stavros]

One hopes that the tournament will be rescued by Carlos Alcaraz and even Emma Raducanu, if she can deal with her back problem and the blisters...

[rodinuk]

The answer I suspect is that the paying public care more about their voracious appetites for content be it on-line or on the court to worry too much - as you say in all likelihood those players will be back in at some point and presumably still on the tour. In the normal course of events top seeds are toppled by underlings or up-and-comings so it shouldn't be too much of a hole to bear...

[Stavros]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Labour MP Chris Bryant is in effect demanding that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer tell him if they support the call from the ATP Player Council for Wimbledon to be stripped of its ranking points if they ban Russian players from taking part in the Wimbledon tournament. Strident Bryant presents them with an either/or choice, but one wonders if either of these two men have ever heard of Chris Bryant, and should they pay attention to him?

"Chris Bryant MP, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Russia, told Telegraph Sport the pair needed to disclose whether they had been involved in crisis talks over the Wimbledon ban and what position they had taken.
“Federer and Nadal should come clean,” Bryant said. “Do they want Vladimir Putin to fail or don’t they care?”
Politicians launch attack on Federer and Nadal over call to strip Wimbledon of ranking points (yahoo.com)

[broncofan]

I disagree with the bans personally. I support economic sanctions against Russia, which does have an impact on the average Russian, but the purpose is for such sanctions to be a means to an end. They put pressure on the regime by isolating Russia economically. I would even go further than that and say I support the sanctions against the oligarchs because to my knowledge these people have mostly made their money by purchasing state assets in firesales when the assets were in fact worth much more than they paid. The oligarchs also play a role in enabling Russia to launder money and avoid the direct effects of the sanctions.

But....I don't actually think we should mistreat individual Russians in the vain hope it will be what changes Putin's mind. This does nothing that sanctions won't do in the long run and is harmful to individuals who really are not in a position to criticize a regime that might kill their family members.

The human rights violations in Ukraine are about as severe as it gets, with summary executions of entire towns. I'm just not sure it's a useful addition to what is a comprehensive set of sanctions that are intended to put pressure on Russia.

[Stavros]

You give sound reasons for your views. If I were to offer a critical note, it would be to ask not if players have condemned the war in Ukraine, because as you say it could be harmful to them and their families in Russia, but what if players openly support Putin and his objectives? I am not sure if any players have, but in a parallel situation, in the Arts, two people have lost from this war -the soprano Anna Netrebko, and the conductor Valery Gergiev. Netrebko seems to have first condemned the war, then backtracked or tried to cover her tracks, perhaps because of family commitments in Russia, even though she has Austrian citizenship and usually lives in Vienna (see New Yorker link below), and my guess is she is naive when it comes to politics.

Gergiev is the more difficult figure, as the link shows. It could be that his pursuit of money for artistic ends has led him to his 'relationship' with Putin, but as his parents are from North Ossetia, it could also be that he favours pro-Russian authority in the Caucasus, either way he has form, though the article makes an unwarranted slur at Wilhelm Furtwangler about whom a more balanced view is available in his Wikipedia entry.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cu...ic-under-putin

If art and politics is often connected, so too is sport, as we know from the Cold War and the shocking use by the USSR of drugs to improve the performance of its athletes, but again, one wonders how many individual sportspeople are politically savvy and how many are naive, plain ignorant, or just don't care.

The lines have been drawn, and I don't think much can be done right now to offer much hope for Russian players.

The irony of all this is that as far as Wimbledon is concerned, it is Novak Djokovic who might get the roughest ride from the spectators, and not for the crisis in Ukraine. Because sometimes even winning doesn't put an argument to rest, as our Bard put it-

For no man well of such a salve can speak,
That heals the wound, and cures not the disgrace

[Stavros]

Wimbledon has lost its status as a ranking event, but I assume players will still play, for the prestige and the prize-money, but maybe those not good on grass will give it a miss.

Wimbledon: ATP & WTA strip ranking points from Grand Slam over ban for Russians and Belarusians - BBC Sport

[Stavros]

Cameron Norrie believes that some top players will decide not to compete at Wimbledon this year after the ATP and WTA opted to revoke ranking points from the tournament in light of the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players this year.
Norrie, the British No 1, also said that without players being able to compete for ranking points at Wimbledon, the tournament will more closely resemble an exhibition event.
Norrie backs top players to skip Wimbledon after ATP decision | Tennis | The Guardian

But the prize money must be an attraction for some players -here are the singles prizes (other categories in the link)

PositionPrize Money
Winner £1,700,000
Finalist £900,000
Semi Finalists £465,000
Quarter Finalist £300,000
Round of 16 £181,000
Round of 32 £115,000
Round of 64 £75,000
Round of 128 £48,000
Qualifiers 3 £25,500
Qualifiers 2 £15,500
Qualifiers 1 £8,500
Wimbledon Championships 2022 Prize Money Breakdown (sportsry.com)

[Stavros]

Rafael Nadal rolled back the years and lost a set, but dominated thereafter -what do younger players have to do to beat the veterans?

Serena Williams played amazing tennis, and still lost. She just wasn't 100% fit, and her opponent made telling shots that needed bursts of speed. Will Serena play Wimbledon again? Maybe. Will Harmony Tan win the tournament? Doubt it.

[Stavros]

John Isner, the most unimaginative, boring player since Pete Sampras?

Emma needs to be ruthless and take risks, or she will not win another Grand Slam.