PRAGUE (Reuters) – Czech police have prevented a Russian tennis player from entering the country ahead of the WTA Prague Open tournament, organisers said on Friday, as a new government solution banning athletes from Russia or Belarus has led to the elimination of other competitors.
The Prague Open begins on Monday and a handful of Russian and Belarusian players, plus Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina or Belarusia’s Aliaksandra Sasnovich, are expected to compete as neutrals, without any national flag or symbol.
But the government approved a solution in late June that banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from entering Czech territory at times, allowing police to revoke those citizens’ visas.
Tournament director Miroslav Maly said police prevented a Prague Open player from entering the country on Thursday and organizers informed other Russian and Belarusian citizens not to participate in the tournament after the incident.
“She is the first player to arrive in the Czech Republic on a Russian passport,” Maly said, adding that she had already left the country.
“The control of the tournament fully respects the existing position of the state authorities. We don’t expect a player of Russian or Belarusian nationality to participate in the tournament in this situation. “
The WTA had no comment.
Czech world number 29 Marie Bouzkova, who lost to compatriot and long-time champion Marketa Vondrousova at Wimbledon this month, won the Prague Open in 2022 and will protect her title. The tournament will also feature China’s Zhu Lin and Zhang Shuai and France’s Alize Cornet. among the most sensitive seeds.
Czech police had planned to make sure the government’s solution was reliable for the tournament, a police spokesman told the CTK news agency on Thursday.
A week ago, the Polish government denied access to Russian tennis player Vera Zvonareva, the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, on grounds of state and public security.
Central and Eastern European states have been Ukraine’s staunchest allies since Russia invaded the country in February 2022.
Since June 2022, the Czech government has stopped issuing long-term visas to Russian citizens, who can only enter through short-term visas if they have relatives who are citizens of the European Union or if they enter on humanitarian grounds.
(Reporting by Robert Muller and Jason Hovet; additional reporting by Anita Kothroughlinska of Gdansk; editing by Christian Radnedge)
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