The Lawn Tennis Association’s $1 million (£786,534) fine for banning Russian and Belarusian men from last summer’s grass court events has been reduced by half.
The men’s ATP Tour will repay $500,000 (£393,267) to the LTA once this summer’s events have been concluded with Russians and Belarusians free to compete.
The ATP has also lifted a threat to remove the LTA’s membership, and restored its full voting rights.
In February, the women’s WTA Tour also agreed to halve a $1 million fine, which was levied on both the LTA and the All England Club, following an appeal.
The players were banned in 2022 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Wimbledon was stripped of ranking points as a result, but entries for this year’s tournament have not been restricted by nationality.
The LTA took a while to decide whether the costs would justify an appeal, but always made clear it was “deeply disappointed” with the original outcome.
“The ATP has shown no recognition of the exceptional circumstances created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The ATP appears to regard this matter as a straightforward breach of their rules – with a surprising lack of empathy shown for the situation in Ukraine,” it said in a statement last December.
The partial refund will be very welcome in a year the LTA announced an overall loss of £16.4 million in 2022. The fines were described at the time as “unforeseen factors” by the organisation’s chief executive Scott Lloyd.