The Girls’s Tennis Affiliation says it’s “evaluating” why Vera Zvonareva was barred from coming into Poland
Russian tennis star Vera Zvonareva was blocked from coming into Poland on Saturday, with the EU nation’s inside ministry saying in an announcement that she is on a listing of individuals thought-about to be “undesirable.”
“The Border Guard prevented a Russian tennis participant from coming into Poland,” the ministry introduced on Saturday. “Vera Zvonareva, utilizing a visa issued by France, tried to get into our nation on a flight from Belgrade to Warsaw.”
The assertion added that the inside ministry views Zvonareva as an “undesirable” particular person, and that she departed to Podgorica in Montenegro on Saturday. She had landed in Warsaw on Friday and had “stayed within the transit zone of Warsaw Chopin Airport” till her departure.
Poland, a robust supporter of Ukraine all through its battle with Russia, has ceaselessly refused to grant entry to folks from both Russia or Belarus since quickly after the onset of Moscow’s offensive final 12 months. Zvonareva had beforehand expressed her opposition to the army operation in March of final 12 months, writing “No struggle” on the visor of her hat whereas taking part in on the Miami Open in March 2022.
The previous world quantity two, a bronze medalist on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, was making an attempt to achieve entry to Poland to compete within the Warsaw Open, which begins on Monday. The organizers of the occasion haven’t but commented on Zvonareva’s expulsion from Poland.
The Girls’s Tennis Affiliation (WTA) mentioned in an announcement on Saturday that it’s “conscious of the state of affairs” involving Zvonareva. It added: “The security and wellbeing of all gamers is a high precedence of the WTA. Vera has departed Poland and we might be evaluating the problem additional with the occasion.”
Quite a few athletes from Russia and Belarus have been blocked from competing in some sports activities because the battle started in Ukraine final 12 months. This got here following a suggestion by the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC), which was subsequently adopted by varied sporting federations.
Wimbledon, the annual Grand Slam tennis occasion that takes place in London, lifted its ban on Russian and Belarusian rivals this 12 months – nonetheless, this coverage change was “topic to [them] competing as impartial athletes.”
You’ll be able to share this story on social media:
Supply hyperlink
