Ban costly for British

Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association has been fined $1million (NZ$1.57m) by the ATP for its ban on Russian and Belarusian players. The LTA has been threatened with expulsion from the Tour if it repeats the ban imposed this year following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russians and Belarusians were controversially prevented from competing at the LTA’s five ATP events: Queen’s Club, Eastbourne, Surbiton, Nottingham and Ilkley. The All England Club banned the likes of Daniil Medvedev, then ranked No 2 in the world, from playing at Wimbledon, which was subsequently stripped of its ranking points by the ATP and the WTA. The LTA said it is considering its response to the latest sanction and accused the ATP of a ‘‘lack of empathy’’ over the situation in Ukraine.