WTA fines British tennis $1m over Russia ban

British tennis has been fined $1 million by the WTA over its banning of Russian and Belarusian players at this year’s tournaments.

The WTA has fined the Lawn Tennis Association and the All England Club $751,000 and £250,000 respectively for excluding the players from the Wimbledon warm-up tournaments in Eastbourne, Nottingham and Birmingham.

The move has shocked the Uk government, with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries calling the WTA ‘outcasts’.

‘Since February the vast majority of the international sporting community have come together in solidarity to condemn Putin’s barbaric actions in Ukraine,’ Ms Dorries told the London Daily Mail.

“Regrettably the international tennis federations appear determined to be outcasts in this. The LTA and Wimbledon should be praised for their move to make Russia an international sporting pariah, and doing what is right in the current circumstances.”

The LTA has said it will appeal the fine, but the WTA will only allow one once the fine has been paid in full.