NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ajla Tomljanovic will be knocking on the door of the world’s top 30 after reaching a second straight Grand Slam quarter-final this year but the Australian is frustrated she will not be even higher due to the absence of rankings points from Wimbledon.
Tomljanovic, who lost to Ons Jabeur in the last eight of the U.S. Open on Tuesday, is set to rise to a projected 34th place from 46th spot when the rankings are updated on Monday due to her deep run in New York.
The ATP and WTA stripped Wimbledon of ranking points after its organisers decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.
“It feels like one quarter-final, because the other one doesn’t count,” the 29-year-old told reporters.
“So it’s like I’m in a position that sucks right now, because I’m still fighting to be top 30, and, I mean, I don’t even know what I’m playing next. I don’t even know what there is to play.”
Rankings determine a player’s ability to enter tournaments and receive seedings.
Tomljanovic defeated 23-time major winner Serena Williams in the third round en route to the last eight of the hardcourt Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows for the first time.
“I just know that I’m not the player to chase points. My body is not up for, like, I mean, flying tomorrow and then playing on Monday,” she said.
“I don’t even know if I can do that. I don’t know if I want to do that. But at the same time, I want to be in that group of players where I deserve to be.
“So just really frustrated at the moment with that, but I’m mad that I am frustrated with it, because it’s out of my control.”
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Peter Rutherford)
