Czech Republican police have stopped an unnamed Russian player from playing next week’s WTA event in Prague.
Next week’s event in the Czech Republic was set to feature a number of players from Russia and Belarus with the athletes set to compete under neutral status.
However a late government resolution has meant that athletes from Russia and Belarus have now been banned from participating in any event in the Czech Republic.
It has now been confirmed that an unnamed player did enter the Czech Republic before being stopped by police and that player has now left the country.
Tournament director Miroslav Maly said in a statement that no players from Russia or Belarus is expected to compete in the tournament, “She was the first participant to arrive to the Czech Republic with a Russian passport,” Maly said in a statement.
“The management of the tournament fully respect the current stance of state authorities. We do not expect any player with Russian or Belarusian citizenship to take part in the tournament in this situation.”
The main draw will take place on Monday with Marie Bouzkova expected to be the top seed after Barbora Krejcikova’s withdrawal.
