Organizers of the WTA Prague Open tournament reported on Friday that Czech police prevented a Russian tennis player from entering the country due to a new government resolution. The resolution bans athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in events on Czech territory, leading to the exclusion of several other Russian and Belarusian competitors.
Expected to begin on Monday, the Prague Open was meant to feature players like Evgeniya Rodina from Russia and Aliaksandra Sasnovich from Belarus, competing as neutrals without national flags or symbols.
However, with the resolution in place since the end of June, police were authorized to revoke visas for Russian and Belarusian nationals, resulting in the prevention of one Prague Open participant from entering the country on Thursday. Subsequently, organizers advised other Russian and Belarusian players not to travel for the tournament.
Despite the absence of some players, the tournament will still see the participation of Czech world number 29, Marie Bouzkova, who previously won the Prague Open in 2022 and will defend her title. Notable top seeds include China’s Zhu Lin and Zhang Shuai, as well as France’s Alize Cornet.
This recent action by the Czech government is part of their stance against Russian citizens since June 2022, as they have stopped issuing long-term visas to them. Russian nationals can now only enter the country through short-term visas if they have relatives with European Union citizenship or for humanitarian reasons.
Additionally, in a similar incident, Polish authorities denied entry to Russian tennis player Vera Zvonareva, a 2008 Olympic bronze medallist, a week ago, citing reasons of state security and public safety.
It’s important to note that central and eastern European states have shown unwavering support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.”
