Stuttgart (Germany) (AFP) - Last year's Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini complained on Friday that he has been "screwed" by the decision to strip the tournament of its ranking points.
In May, both the ATP and the WTA announced that no points would be awarded after the All England Club banned Russian and Belarusian players from playing at Wimbledon as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Men's world number one Novak Djokovic said last month it was a "lose-lose" situation for everyone and former US and Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka said she was ready to boycott Wimbledon.
Berrettini is set to drop down from his current ranking of 10th in the world due to the change with the points used to determine qualification and seeding for competitions.
"I got screwed," the Italian said after reaching the Stuttgart semi-finals following a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over compatriot Lorenzo Sonego
"It's a tough situation, I have so many points to defend and now I can't defend them," the 26-year-old added.
The 2019 Stuttgart champion said he will have to find another way to make up the ranking gap as he returns after three months out with a hand injury.
"I'm not in the best position, we all fight to get points.I'll have to find another way," he said.
"I will play as many tournaments as possible," he added.
Berrettini said that while Wimbledon will seem the same for fans it will definitely be a change for competitors.
"It will be totally different for players," he said.
"It's bad what happened for the Russians and Belarussians, but it's also not fair for the rest of the players."
