The Sunday start of Roland Garros includes opening-round matches for Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime in Paris. The year’s second Grand Slam begins exclusively with singles action, with 20 men’s matches on the slate.

ATPTour.com looks at some of the matches to watch on Day 1 in the French capital. 

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[6] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. [LL] Juan Ignacio Londero (ARG)

The first ATP Head2Head meeting between this pair will close play on Court Philippe Chatrier, with Alcaraz one of the men to watch in his second appearance at Roland Garros. The Spaniard enters the clay-court major with a tour-leading four titles in 2022 — three on clay — and a 28-3 season record. He sits at a career-high of No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings as a result of that breakout success.

After reaching the third round as a qualifier in a successful Roland Garros debut last year before losing to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, Alcaraz returns as one of the favourites to lift La Coupe des Mousquetaires in two weeks’ time. He brings a 10-match winning streak into the event after completing a Spanish title double in Barcelona and Madrid, downing Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in consecutive matches on his way to glory in the latter.

Londero last competed in an ATP Tour event in February when he qualified and won one main-draw match in Santiago. His best 2022 result came in February, when he won six straight sets to reach the Cordoba semi-finals. The 28-year old won his lone tour-level title in Cordoba in 2019 and reached a career-high of No. 50 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings later that year.

[3] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. [Q] Sebastian Ofner (AUS)

Third on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Zverev and Sebastian Ofner meet at a Grand Slam for the second time following the German’s straight-sets win in the Wimbledon 2017 third round – their only previous matchup.

The third seed brings strong clay-court form into Paris, having reached the semi-finals or better at all three ATP Masters 1000 events on the European clay swing. In between last-four showings in Monte Carlo and Rome, he reached the final in Madrid. Zverev’s 18-6 record at Roland Garros is his best at any major by win percentage, as are his three trips to the quarter-finals or better. His best run came last year, when he reached the semis before dropping a five-setter to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Zverev also faced the Greek in all three of his recent semi-finals, earning a victory in Madrid.

“It’s been a consistent clay court season,” the German said ahead of his Roland Garros opener. “I thought I picked up my level of game with each tournament on the clay court season, so I hope I can play my best tennis here. Obviously [I’m] a little bit disappointed I didn’t win a title on the clay this year… If I win the title here, then I’m more than happy about my clay-court season.”

Ofner, the World No. 218, is competing in his first tour-level main draw since he reached the Los Cabos second round last July. He won an ATP Challenger Tour event in Prague in April, his best result of the 2022 season.

[9] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs. Juan Pablo Varillas (PER)

The first ATP Head2Head matchup between Auger-Aliassime and Juan Pablo Varillas is the second meeting of their professional career, with the ninth seed winning a 2016 Futures match against the Peruvian, also on clay. They will be second on Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Canadian won his first ATP Tour title in Rotterdam in February and followed it up with a trip to his 10th final in Marseille. Auger-Aliassime is 0-2 at Roland Garros, but enters Paris in tremendous form at the Grand Slams. After his loss to Andreas Seppi one year ago in the French capital, he has gone on to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals, the US Open semis and the Australian Open quarters. More recently, he has reached four straight ATP Tour quarter-finals, including at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome.

Varillas reached a career-high of No. 104 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings earlier this month and counts a qualifying run to the Cordoba last 16 as his best tour-level result of 2022. He has also reached four semi-finals, including one final, on the ATP Challenger Tour this season.

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Best Of The Rest

Dominic Thiem seeks the first win of his comeback from a right-wrist injury on Court Simonne Mathieu against Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien. The Austrian, a two-time finalist at Roland Garros (2018-19), is also looking to bounce back from a surprise first-round loss to Pablo Andujar last year in Paris. 

John Isner, one of 15 Americans in the men’s singles draw, opens against Quentin Halys, one of 15 Frenchmen in the draw. Those two nations lead the way in terms of tournament participants, with Argentina and Spain each providing 11 main-draw competitors.

Other seeded players in action include No. 15 Diego Schwartzman (vs. qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov), No. 18 Grigor Dimitrov (vs. Marcos Giron), No. 21 Karen Khachanov (vs. qualifier Nuno Borges), No. 25 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (vs. Tallon Griekspoor), No. 26 Botic van de Zandschulp (vs. qualifier Pavel Kotov) and No. 31 Jenson Brooksby (vs. Pablo Cuevas).

Roger Federer took a high-octane break from the practice court in Barcelona on Saturday as the Swiss legend caught up with Formula 1 great Lewis Hamilton at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Federer was at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya watching qualifying for Sunday’s race, the sixth round of the 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The 40-year-old visited Hamilton and the rest of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, including Hamilton’s teammate George Russell and Team Principal Toto Wolff.

“I had a need for speed. Good luck tomorrow,” wrote Federer to Hamilton and Russell via Twitter after spending time with the British duo. Hamilton is one of the most successful drivers of all time, having won a joint-record seven Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship titles, while 24-year-old Russell is considered one of the brightest talents in the sport.

I had a need for speed 🏎💨 Good Luck tomorrow @LewisHamilton @GeorgeRussell63 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/EZLcjmewoK

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 21, 2022

Five-time year-end No. 1 Federer revealed this week that he is targeting a return to competitive action at September’s Laver Cup in London. The 103-time tour-level titlist has not played since Wimbledon last July due to two surgeries on his right knee.

The tennis world has descended on Paris for the year’s second Grand Slam, with Roland Garros set to begin Sunday. Several tournament favourites share the top half of the draw, with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and 13-time champ Rafael Nadal in the first quarter and the fast-rising Carlos Alcaraz in the second along with third seed Alexander Zverev. 

Daniil Medvedev is back from injury for his second clay-court event of the season, with fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas joining him in the bottom half.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch this week.

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1) Djokovic Defending Title & More: The Serbian, seeking a third Roland Garros title, is also aiming to defend his position atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. His status as World No. 1 is under threat in Paris from Medvedev and Alexander Zverev as Djokovic defends 2,000 points from his 2021 title run. 

The 34-year-old can draw level with Nadal at 21 Grand Slam singles titles with the trophy, and would become the first man in history to win all four Slams three times with another triumph in Paris. After winning his first title of 2022 and securing his 1,000th match win at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Djokovic has found top form after a difficult start to the season.

The Serbian opens against Yoshihito Nishioka and could face Alex Molcan in the third round, with the in-form Slovakian coached by Djokovic’s former coach Marian Vajda.

2) Nadal Out To Reclaim Throne: The Australian Open champion can get halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam by lifting the Roland Garros trophy for a record-extending 14th time, a triumph which would also extend his Grand Slam title record to 22. The Spaniard fell to Djokovic in the 2021 semi-finals and could now face his rival in this year’s quarter-finals.

Nadal opened the 2022 season in blistering form, starting the year at a personal-best 20-0 and winning titles at ATP Tour events in Melbourne and Acapulco in addition to his Aussie Open run. He also reached the Indian Wells final before being sidelined with a rib fracture. He has since posted a 3-2 record on the European clay, reaching the Madrid quarter-finals before struggling physically with his chronic foot injury in a Rome defeat to Denis Shapovalov.

The 35-year-old Nadal faces Aussie Jordan Thompson in the opening round and could face Stan Wawrinka in the second round. He enters Roland Garros with a record 105 wins at the event and a record 97.2 per cent match-win rate.

3) Alcaraz In New Territory: The 19-year-old’s rapid rise has been the big story on the ATP Tour in recent months, his season-best four titles helping him reach a career-high of No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He has won ATP Masters 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid in addition to claiming ATP 500 crowns in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona. Alcaraz takes a 10-match winning streak into Paris after completing a Spanish trophy double.

Competing in his fifth major main draw, and his second Roland Garros, he is seeking to improve upon a quarter-final showing at the 2021 US Open. But Alcaraz is in new territory as a Grand Slam favourite in Paris, where he qualified and reached the third round last year in a successful debut.

The Spaniard, who holds a 28-3 record on the season, could join his countryman Nadal by becoming the second teenager to win a Grand Slam men’s singles title in the last 30 years. He faces Juan Ignacio Londero in the first round.

4) Tsitsipas, Zverev Seek Repeat Runs: Tsitsipas won a five-set semi-final against Zverev in 2021, and both men return with ambitions for another deep run in Paris. The Greek enters with a 31-10 record on the season, his 31 victories leading the ATP Tour. The Monte Carlo champion is 15-5 at Roland Garros and lost to Djokovic in five sets each of the past two years. He faces a tough opening test against #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

Zverev has reached finals in Montpellier and Madrid but is still seeking his first title of 2022. The German reached the semi-finals or better at three events on the European clay swing, advancing to the last four in Monte Carlo and Rome in addition to his Madrid run. He faced Tsitsipas in the semi-finals at all three events, scoring a victory in the Spanish capital. Zverev takes on Sebastian Ofner in the opening round.

5) Rublev, Ruud, Sinner Among Contenders: Seventh seed Andrey Rublev is a three-time ATP Tour champion in 2022 and looks to build on his quarter-final run one year ago in Paris. Casper Ruud enters Roland Garros on the heels of his second title of the season in Geneva. Seven of his eight tour-level titles have come on clay, but the eighth seed has never progressed beyond the third round in Paris, the stage of his exit in each of the last three years. Jannik Sinner, seeded 11th, has reached five quarter-finals this season, including at the Australian Open. He also reached the last eight one year ago at Roland Garros.

6) Medvedev Back In The Nick Of Time: The World No. 2 missed a chunk of the clay swing with a hernia, but returned last week in Geneva. Though Medvedev lost to Richard Gasquet in his first match back, the competitive play will serve him well as he seeks to improve upon his quarter-final showing in Paris last year. 

The Australian Open finalist opens against Facundo Bagnis of Argentina.

7) Two-Time Finalist Thiem Steps Up Injury Return: Dominic Thiem is still seeking his first match win after returning from a right-wrist injury in April. He has played exclusively on clay in his five events in 2022 with the intention of building up his match sharpness for Roland Garros. Though Thiem won his first major at the 2020 US Open, Roland Garros has been his most consistent Slam. Prior to a first-round loss in 2021, he reached two finals, two semis and one quarter-final in the previous five years. His 28 wins in Paris are his most at any Slam. 

8) French Farewells: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon, two of 15 Frenchmen in the men’s singles draw, are both playing the final Roland Garros of their decorated careers. Tsonga, 37, is playing the final event of an 18-year career that saw him break into the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings (No. 5 in 2012), reach a Grand Slam final (2008 Australian Open) and win two ATP Masters 1000 titles (2008 Paris, 2014 Toronto). His 121 Grand Slam wins are the most all-time of any Frenchman.

Gilles Simon, also 37, will retire at the end of the 2022 season. Both he and Tsonga debuted at Roland Garros as wild cards in 2005. A 14-time tour-level titlist, Simon reached a high of No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2009.

9) Americans Dot The Draw: The 15 Americans in the men’s singles draws is the joint-most from any nation, alongside hosts France. The U.S. contingent features seven seeded players, led by 13th seed Taylor Fritz and also including Reilly Opelka, John Isner, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda, Tommy Paul and Jenson Brooksby. Isner, the 23rd seed, has reached the fourth round three times in Paris, the best previous result of any American in the draw alongside Korda’s 2020 run to the last 16, where he lost to Nadal.

There are no seeded Frenchman among their 15 entrants. Argentina and Spain each have 11 men in the singles draw, the only other nations with double-digit participants.

10) Ram/Salisbury, Herbert/Mahut Among Doubles Contenders: While the doubles draws have not yet been set, two-time Roland Garros quarter-finalists Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury have been confirmed as top seeds, with Great Britain’s Salisbury sitting atop the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings and Ram the World No 2.

Defending champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut are seeded third as they seek a third title at their home Grand Slam, while Rome champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic will make their team debut in Paris as the second seeds.

With his back against the wall, Casper Ruud successfully retained his Gonet Geneva Open title Saturday, overcoming Portugal’s Joao Sousa 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(1) to capture his eighth ATP Tour trophy.

The Norwegian rallied from a break down at 4-5 in the third set as he demonstrated his fighting spirit by returning with great depth in the crucial moments to become the first player since Stan Wawrinka in 2016 and 2017 to win multiple Geneva crowns.

In a dramatic final, the second seed fired 11 aces, hit with consistent depth on his backhand and struck the ball with power and accuracy on his forehand to secure victory on his fourth match point after three hours and one minute.

It was the first ATP Tour final of the season to go to a third-set tie-break, with Ruud’s win the longest championship match of the season in both time and games (36).

“It was one of the craziest matches that I have ever played,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “It was a lot of up and down. Sousa was close to winning and then suddenly everything turns around and this is tennis. It is always tough for the player who is not winning.”

Ruud has now won six of the past seven ATP 250 clay-court events he has played, with his one defeat coming against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in Munich in April.

The World No. 8, who downed Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the final last year, is also just the second player this season to retain a trophy won in 2021, following Stefanos Tsitsipas’ successful defence of his Monte Carlo crown last month.

“This win feels so good, but you have to give a lot of credit to Joao because he fought back from one set down and has been playing well all week,” Ruud added. “It was just a matter of one or two points today and luckily they went in my favour.”

Earlier this season, Ruud clinched the title on clay in Buenos Aires. The 23-year-old joins Carlos Alcaraz (4), Rafael Nadal (3), Andrey Rublev (3), Cameron Norrie (2) and Reilly Opelka (2) as the sixth player to win multiple tour-level titles in 2022.

Sousa was aiming to clinch his fifth ATP Tour title and second of the year, having lifted the title in Pune in February. The 33-year-old, who did not drop a set en route to the final, has climbed to No. 63 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his run in Switzerland.

Cameron Norrie clinched his second ATP Tour title of the season Saturday, edging Slovakian Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-1 in the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon final.

The top seed lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the championship match at the ATP 250 event last year, but produced an intense and all-action performance against Molcan to ensure he would not fall at the final hurdle again this week, sealing victory on his third match point.

In a hard-fought battle, Norrie recovered from squandering two match points on Molcan’s serve in the second set as he held off an attacking bombardment from the 24-year-old to eventually triumph in the decider after two hours and 31 minutes.

“It is my first title on the clay so it means a lot to me,” Norrie said in his on-court interview. “I can’t be happier with how I handled everything this week. This one feels the best so far. I don’t know why, it is just so special and I couldn’t be happier and am really speechless right now. It was an incredible atmosphere. Thanks to everyone for coming out.

“I had chances to close the matches in straight sets this week and get it done easier than usual and it didn’t go that way and I was able to let that go and respond. In the third set I moved really well and it is nice to get over the line.”

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The Briton, who overcame Francisco Cerundolo, Sebastian Baez and Holger Rune en route to the championship match, has become the fifth player to win multiple tour-level titles in 2022, joining Carlos Alcaraz (4), Rafael Nadal (3), Andrey Rublev (3) and Reilly Opelka (2). Norrie downed Opelka to lift the trophy in Delray Beach in February.

The World No. 11 has now captured four ATP Tour titles in his career, with his victory in the south of France the first time he has won a crown on clay. It is also Norrie’s first tour-level triumph outside North America.

Norrie made a fast start on Court Central as he caused problems for Molcan with his watertight groundstrokes, with the Slovakian taking time to settle. The Briton moved a double break ahead, and while Molcan recovered one, he was unable to hit through Norrie with regularity as the 26-year-old moved ahead.

Breaks were then exchanged at the start of the second set, before Norrie conjured up two match points on Molcan’s serve at 4-5. However, the 24-year-old saved both before he continued to go on the attack in the tie-break to level. Norrie came out firing in the third set, though, putting his disappointment behind him to play the more consistent tennis, pulling Molcan from side to side to record the win.

Molcan swept aside Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Karen Khachanov, Federico Coria and Alex de Minaur in straight sets to reach his third ATP Tour final and second in as many months, having advanced to the championship match in Marrakech.

However, the 24-year-old, who is up to No. 38 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, was unable to outmanoeuvre Norrie for prolonged periods in front of a packed crowd in Lyon.

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic earned their second ATP Tour trophy in as many weeks on Saturday at the Gonet Geneva Open, rallying past Pablo Andujar and Matwe Middelkoop 2-6, 6-2, 10-3 in the final.

The Croatians arrived in Geneva off the back of winning their maiden title of the season in Rome and played with renewed confidence at the ATP 250 event, losing just two sets en route to the crown.

In a tight final, the top seeds recovered from a slow start against Andujar and Middelkoop as they returned with greater depth and closed the net more effectively throughout to secure victory after 69 minutes.

“I am really happy about the nine-win streak,” Mektic said. “We weren’t satisfied with our results before Rome but now we are in good form and looking forward to playing in Paris.”

Mektic and Pavic were competing in their fourth tour-level final of the year and have now won their past nine matches. It is the 11th title the pair has won together, after they captured a tour-leading nine crowns in 2021, including three ATP Masters 1000 trophies.

Prior to this week, Pavic, 28, also enjoyed success in Geneva in 2018 and 2019, lifting the trophy on both occasions with Austrian Oliver Marach. Mektic, 33, was making his debut in Geneva and is now 19-13 in tour-level doubles finals.

“I have played the tournament four times and now have my third title,” Pavic said. “It is always a special week and I am always happy to be back here. I have a lot of friends here and it is kind of a different feeling for me. I enjoy playing on the centre court and the club. I play good tennis here year after year. I am very happy with the title.”

Spaniard Andujar and Dutchman Middelkoop were teaming for the first time at the ATP 250 tournament. Middelkoop captured his 12th trophy in Rotterdam in February, while Andujar was aiming to win his maiden tour-level doubles title.

Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek lifted their first ATP Tour title together on Saturday at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon, downing second seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Marcelo Melo 6-3, 6-4.

The top seeds, who saved two match points in their quarter-final win over David Vega Hernandez and Rafael Matos, won 82 per cent (27/33) of their first-serve points against Gonzalez and Melo to triumph after 78 minutes.

“It is great, great for me,” Dodig said. “I had a really good time with Austin, we played some good tennis. I am really happy with this title. We have worked really hard the past couple of weeks. There were some tough losses but now we are on a good track and playing well.”

“I thought we served really well and returned well in big points,” Krajicek added. “Ivan played great. It was a good team effort. We have put in a lot of hard work in the past couple of weeks and finally got it going our way this week.”

Dodig and Krajicek were competing together for the fifth time, with their best result before this week a run to the final in Winston-Salem last August. The Croatian-American tandem arrived in Lyon having not won a match as a team this year.

Dodig, 37, has now earned 17 tour-level doubles trophies, including five ATP Masters 1000 crowns and two Grand Slam titles. He won the Lyon title with Edouard Roger-Vasselin in 2019. It is the fifth time the 31-year-old Krajicek has clinched a tour-level trophy, with all of his successes coming at ATP 250 events. It is the first time the American has won a trophy since Kitzbühel in 2020.

Gonzalez and Melo joined forces for the first time this week. The Argentine has lifted 11 tour-level titles with eight different partners, while Brazilian Melo has clinched 35 tour-level trophies, including nine Masters 1000 crowns.

What are the main factors behind this decision?
Protecting the integrity of our sport was the primary factor. Our sport is built upon merit-based tournament entry and a level playing field for all players, free from discrimination. It was also important to avoid setting a precedent of unilateral decision-making by events. Our Tour can only operate and thrive as a viable sport under shared principles of governance.

How can you take points from Wimbledon and not the ATP events?
Wimbledon stands alone in its position in the calendar, with no concurrent events running alongside it. Compromising the fairness of player entries therefore compromises the fairness of the entire rankings system. It is also a reality that as one of the biggest events in our sport, Wimbledon will continue to operate and attract players with or without ranking points.

Removing ranking points at ATP Tour events brings a significant risk of these events not running at all. This would have damaging consequences for many players and fans, through the loss of valuable playing and earning opportunities. In addition, there are alternative ATP Tour events open to Russian and Belarusian players in those weeks. This reduces the impact on fairness in the rankings.

Was there no other solution? Why didn’t you opt to just give ranking protection to the excluded players?
As the governing body of the sport, our duty is to maintain the integrity of our Tour and the ranking system that upholds it. Removing rankings points at Wimbledon is a decision made purely on the basis of maintaining a level playing field for our players across the season. Providing ranking protection to the Russian and Belarusian players would not have done so in an adequate manner.

You have said the players were more amenable to the alternative option under the informal guidance from UK government, under which they would be required to sign a declaration. Is that not dangerous?
Among other requirements, the alternative option required players to declare they would not ‘express support for the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian or Belarusian regimes, or their leadership’. It’s important to clarify that there was no requirement to denounce the Russian regime – a risk that’s unrealistic to expect any player to take.

The informal guidance specifically states: “the Government is not seeking a statement that is critical of the Russian regime, to avoid the potential for any undue personal risk being incurred by the sportspeople involved.”

Our discussions with Russian and Belarusian players made it clear that this alternative option would have been preferred. We understand LTA and Wimbledon had concerns about this course of action, however, we also note this option is currently being offered to Player Support Team members from Russia or Belarus.

We would also like to highlight Point 1 of the guidance, which states: “With regard to the participation of individuals in sporting events, the Government’s aim is to minimise the ability of Russian and Belarussian individuals to be seen to represent their nation – and therefore deliver reputational and other benefits by association – without unduly penalising those who truly intend to participate in an entirely neutral capacity.“

The bottom line is there were various options on the table, and a joint decision should have been reached together. Instead, the decision was made in isolation.

How does this leave the relationship between ATP and these tournaments?
It’s important to stress that the LTA have been an exemplary member of the Tour for many years, and we’ve had a strong relationship with Wimbledon for many years. We take no joy in today’s decision. We understand the difficult decisions they faced in responding to the UK government’s guidance. That said, in our role as governing body we must consider the wider implications on fairness for the whole Tour. Our decision was taken to prevent a damaging and unsustainable precedent being set, not to punish these events for their response to this devastating crisis.

Is it not fair on the players that compete and do well at Wimbledon?
Our decision is based around the need to maintain rankings fairness across the player group as a whole. To maintain fairness, some sacrifices and compromises are unfortunately required.

What will happen to the points earned at Wimbledon last year?
Points earned at Wimbledon in 2021 will drop from players’ rankings as per ATP rules (52 weeks after the previous year’s event). As such, no points from Wimbledon will remain in a player’s ranking breakdown after this year’s event.

How much involvement did the players have in this decision to remove points from Wimbledon?
We’ve had extensive consultation with the Player Council, which represents the interests of the wider player group, as well as Russian and Belarusian players. In general, our conversations have stressed that this is a time to put self-interest to one side and to understand the broader picture for tennis.

Of course, we know that not all players will agree with the position we’ve taken. Our ongoing dialogue with Ukrainian players over the last months has made their position on the matter clear, for example. Our hope is that they can understand these rules are in place to protect the integrity of competition, which is fundamental to tennis.

What does this say about collaboration across the T7 and how can unilateral decision making like this be avoided in the future?
This matter highlights the need for a unified governance structure across tennis. We have and will continue to strongly advocate for this in our discussions across the sport, which we believe will serve as a net positive for all.

What happens if other tournaments or countries end up banning Russian/Belarusian players later in the season? Will you take the same stance?
Each situation will need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. There are many factors that go into determining the most appropriate response. On principle, we cannot accept unilateral decision making or discrimination by individual tournaments as this would set a damaging precedent for the wider Tour. We also note that to date, the UK summer events are the only tournaments to take such a position.

Circumstances certainly change if bans are mandated by local governments. As with the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, any government rules would supersede ATP Tour rules. Our response in such instances would also need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

What is ATP’s position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
We are unequivocal in condemning Russia’s unprovoked, abhorrent and senseless invasion of Ukraine. We are also resolute in our support of the Ukrainian people. Through Tennis Plays for Peace and direct financial assistance for many affected players, we hope to support the people of Ukraine through this tragic time.

What is the expected sanction for the LTA?
Any sanction issued to LTA will be assessed in accordance with the measures available under ATP governance. This can include financial penalties as well as an assessment of membership status via a hearing. In the event of a financial penalty, funds would be donated to the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

Explain why maintaining the integrity of the Rankings system is so important to ATP and the wider player group?
The rankings underpin the entire season together and ensure its fairness. Maintaining ranking points at a tournament like Wimbledon, which carries the highest level of ranking points, when the event is not open to all players, would have major knock-on effects. It would lead to a significant distortion in determining which players can enter tournaments, seedings, qualification for the year-end Finals, year-end Bonus Pool, and year-end Ranking positions. This would undermine the credibility and integrity of our sport.

Do the Russian and Belarusian players support the move you have made?
This decision has not been made at the request of Russian or Belarusian players. There is no self-interest behind this decision. Instead, we are taking a wider collective view – protecting the rights of the player group as a whole, no matter their nationality or place of birth, across our Tour.

Wimbledon has said they are concerned with their tournament being used as propaganda by the Russian regime. Do you not understand their concerns?
Sport undoubtedly has outsized influence in world affairs, and it’s true that the successes of athletes have been lauded by the Russian regime. However, we cannot be certain that the decision to ban athletes is itself without negative consequences on this front. In fact, Russian exclusion by the rest of the world is consistently used as a proof point by the Russian propaganda machine in building nationalistic sentiment, justifying and rallying support domestically for the war in Ukraine.

Instead, we believe in the unifying power of sport, a view shared by many of our players. Many of the players affected by this decision in fact expressed a strong desire to use Wimbledon’s platform to promote solidarity and peace.

More broadly, we do not believe that individuals should be penalised on the basis of collective guilt due to the reprehensible actions of an autocratic government. This was a shared position across our sport when the decision was made in March 2022 to allow players from Russia and Belarus to continue to compete on the Tour as neutral athletes.

In addition, having individual tournaments make determinations about which conflicts or world events are deserving of action, and which are not, is deeply subjective and impossible to apply with consistency across our global Tour. This threatens to fracture our Tour and sow deep divisions. Instead, these judgements should be made as a collective under shared governance.