Andy Murray asserts "Wimbledon will never be an exhibition"

The Break: No ranking points at Wimbledon

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray took to Twitter Wednesday afternoon to state his case on why the removal of ranking points from the longstanding grass-court major has no bearing on the event’s prestige.

Last week, the ATP and WTA Tours stripped Wimbledon of its ranking points after the All England Club responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarus' support of the war by declaring players from those two nations would be excluded from participating at this year's tournament. Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka cautioned whether she would play without the opportunity to improve her ranking, where winners in singles and doubles typically earn 2000 points.

“I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it's more like an exhibition. I know this isn't true, right? But my brain just like feels that way,” Osaka said after her first-round exit at Roland Garros.

“Whenever I think like something is like an exhibition, I just can't go at it 100%.”

Said Benoit Paire following his four-set loss to Ilya Ivashka in Paris, “I will go there to get my prize money, as I would for an exhibition tournament.”

In his argument, Murray brought up his other sporting interests and how the champion is remembered, but the points side of the equation is a nonstarter for viewers.

“I follow golf very closely and have no idea how many ranking points the winner of the @TheMasters gets. Me and my friends love football and none [sic] of us know or care how many ranking points a team gets for winning the @FIFAWorldCup,” his thread began.

“But I could tell you exactly who won the World Cup and the Masters. I’d hazard a guess that most people watching on Centre Court @Wimbledon in a few weeks time wouldn’t know or care about how many ranking points a player gets for winning a 3rd round match.”

The 35-year-old, who is currently ranked No. 67 and skipped the French Open in favor of making preparations for the grass swing, closed by assuring his home Grand Slam event would still hold the same esteem it always has.

“But I guarantee they will remember who wins. @Wimbledon will never be an exhibition and will never feel like an exhibition.

“The end.”