WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND (AP) – Roger Federer dropped out of the ATP rankings entirely for the first time in a quarter-century yesterday, while Novak Djokovic slid four spots to seventh a day after winning Wimbledon for the seventh time.
Federer had appeared in the singles rankings every week since he made his debut at age 16 in September 1997, tied for 803rd, and held the record for most time at number one until Djokovic broke it.
Federer was 97th before play began at the All England Club but now has zero points because the rankings are based on a player’s results over the previous 52 weeks – and he has not competed since reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals a year ago.
Shortly after that loss, Federer had his third operation on his right knee in about 18 months. Federer, who turns 41 on August 8, intends to make his return to tournament play in his native Switzerland in October.
Djokovic’s drop and that of runner-up Nick Kyrgios from number 40 to 45 are a result of the decisions by the WTA and ATP to not award any ranking points for Wimbledon in response to the All England Club’s ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus over the war in Ukraine.
Yesterday, Djokovic, Kyrgios and all other players lost whatever points they earned at Wimbledon in 2021, while not gaining any benefit from how they performed during this fortnight.
So Elena Rybakina’s first Grand Slam title did her no good in the WTA rankings; she remained at 23rd, where she became the second-lowest women’s champion at the grass-court tournament in the professional era.
The woman she beat in Saturday’s final, Ons Jabeur, went from second to fifth, even though this was her best showing at a major.
Last year’s losing finalist, Karolina Pliskova, fell eight spots to 15th, and some women who moved ahead of her achieved their career highs yesterday, including Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins at number seven, US Open champion Emma Raducanu at 10th, and French Open runner-up Coco Gauff at 11th.
French Open champion Iga Swiatek, whose 37-match winning streak ended in Wimbledon’s third round, remained at number one.
Daniil Medvedev, who is Russian, stayed atop the men’s rankings after not being allowed to compete at Wimbledon. He won last year’s US Open and was the runner-up at this year’s Australian Open.
