Vera Zvonareva of Russia competes during the Miami Open tennis tournament on March 26, 2022.Marta Lavandier/The Associated Press
Russian tennis player Vera Zvonareva has been banned from entering Poland, the country’s Interior Ministry said. She was to participate in a WTA 250 tournament in Warsaw starting Monday.
A communiqué on the ministry website said the Polish Border Guard on Friday prevented entry by the former world No. 2, who flew in from Belgrade on a French visa. She remained in the transit zone of the Warsaw airport and on Saturday flew to Podgorica, Montenegro.
Zvonareva, currently ranked 60th, was to take part in the PNB Paribas Warsaw Open tournament that begins Monday.
The 38-year-old player was still on the event’s participants’ list Sunday. The WTA said in a statement it was evaluating the situation.
Poland, which supports Ukraine in its war against Russia’s aggression, said that Zvonareva was on a banned list and not allowed into the country for reasons of state and public security.
The communiqué stressed that Poland is consistent in opposing the “regime 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.”