Vera Zvonareva, a Russian tennis player, was banned from entering Poland before the WTA 250 tournament in Warsaw, in which she was supposed to compete.
Poland, which supports Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, said Zvonareva was on a banned list and not allowed into the country for reasons of state and public security.
As per a statement on the ministry’s website, the Polish Border Guard banned entry to the 60th-ranked player, who came in from Belgrade on a French visa, on Friday. She remained in the Warsaw airport’s transit zone before flying to Podgorica, Montenegro, on Saturday.
The communique stressed emphasised Poland’s intention to oppose the regimes of Russian and Belarusian Presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko and is not allowing people who support Russian and Belarusian actions to enter our country.
Zvonareva, 38, was scheduled to compete in the PNB Paribas Warsaw Open, which starts on Monday.
The former world No. 2 player was still listed as a competitor in the tournament on Sunday. In a statement, the WTA stated that it was evaluating the situation.