?ATP Tour Stupid Decision? – Tennis Legends Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, and Other Stars Slam Wta and Atp?s Decision Against Wimbledon

Following in the footsteps of the WTA, yesterday, the 20th of May, ATP gave the second blow to Wimbledon Championships. Like WTA, the apex body of men’s tennis also announced the stripping of ranking points from Wimbledon. The decision comes in as a show of protest by the governing body of men’s tennis against Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing at the Championship this year.

The call to strip off the ranking points was proposed by the players to the ATP. However, ATP refrained from considering this call in the build-up tournaments to Wimbledon. Taking this into consideration, this decision undoubtedly comes as an unexpected one. Learning about the ATP’s decision, a number of players took to their social media handles putting up their views. While some players came out praising the body, others criticized it for its decision.

How did the players react to the announcement?

The majority of tennis players are usually active on social media. They use the platform to give out their day-to-day updates, interact with fans, share their personal and professional engagements, and put forward their views. Yesterday was no different. Following the much-awaited decision by ATP, a number of players took to their Twitter handle giving out their views.

Also read- Novak Djokovic to Lose World Number 1 Ranking After ATP and WTA Announce Bold Decisions

American star Mardy Fish took to his Twitter handle, giving his reason about the decision. Surprised by the decision, he opened room welcoming views from his followers. He wrote, “Whoa, ATP tour takes away ranking points at Wimbledon due to them banning Russian and Belarusian players. Thoughts???”

?While a number of Twitter users replied to Mardy Fish’s tweet, a Tweet that received the maximum limelight was from his fellow American Andy Roddick. The former World No. refrained from going with or against the decision. However, the former Grand Slam champion made sure to give out a strong point of view.

He said, “Let the controversy around wether this counts towards official slam count begin. No points, top players missing in action etc.”

While the American’s put forward their views, the bearded player from France didn’t stay back. Learning about the decision, Benoit Paire took to his Twitter handle, criticizing ATP in one of the strongest ways. He went on calling the apex body, ‘Stupid’. He wrote, “ATP tour STUPID DECISION!!!”

Following the footsteps of their counterparts, Ukrainian player Alex Dolgopolov also came forward expressing himself. Dolgopolov has been one of the many Ukrainian players who have been vocal about the ongoing Russia Ukrainian crisis. Learning about ATP’s decision, he went all praise for the body.

He tweeted, “Well done ATP Tour and WTA, you made the N1 propagandist of russia happy by taking away points from Wimbledon. Probably will make it all over the rest of russian propaganda. Very poor decision Can?t sit on 2 chairs.”

Stakhovsky and Dolgopolov also lashed out at the ATP as they rip off Wimbledon points

Following the footsteps of Dolgopolov, another Ukrainian player that came forward to express his view was Sergiy Stakhovsky. Instead of expressing his views on ATP’s decision, the Ukrainian player decided to take a dig at senior Russian journalist Vladimir Soloviev, calling him the face of Russian Propaganda.

He wrote, “I guess soloveyev doesn?t need introduction? he is the voice of russin propaganda? guess what breaking news he is sharing?? ATP removed points from Wimbledon after the later banned rus/blr players?

Last but not the least, Indian sensation Mahesh Bhupathi also came forward expressing his view point. Praising the ATP for it’s decision, the former doubles World No. 1 opted to take a dig at Wimbledon. He wrote, “Wow ATP Tour, and Wimbledon!!! Question is do you really need ATP/ WTA points to be called ?Wimbledon champion ?? Or a Grand slam champion? And the perks that come with that for life.”

?A number of players have come forward expressing their views. On the other hand, viewpoints of the top players are still awaited. While ATP has made its stand clear on the issue, it would be a thing to see whether Wimbledon remains firm on its decision or considers giving it a second thought.