Czech Republic Denies Entry to Russian Tennis Player for WTA Tournament
Czech border officials, following a government directive, refused entry to a Russian tennis player who had arrived to participate in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tournament in Prague.
This development was reported by Novinky.
"Yesterday, early in the evening, a police officer conducted a check at the place of residence, during which a passenger with Russian citizenship was identified," said Josef Urban, spokesperson for the border police.
The foreigner, who did not have permission to stay in the Czech Republic, was ordered to leave the country within 24 hours. According to the police, the woman has already left the Czech Republic.
In response to the Russian tennis player's exclusion from the Prague tournament, the Ministry of the Interior tweeted that other Russian and Belarusian tennis players will also not be attending.
The name of the tennis player was not disclosed, but it was expected that Russian players Diana Shnaider, Polina Kudermetova, and Erika Andreeva would participate in the qualifications.
"She was the first tournament participant who came to the Czech Republic with a Russian passport. At this moment, she is no longer in the territory of the Czech Republic. We have informed all other tournament participants with Russian or Belarusian citizenship immediately through the WTA, and they were advised not to come to the upcoming tournament," said Miroslav Maliy, the tournament director.
"The tournament organizers fully comply with the current regulations of the state authorities. We do not expect any player with Russian or Belarusian citizenship to take part in the future tournament in this situation," Maliy added.
The WTA competition will take place at the Sparta Prague Tennis Club in Stromovka from July 31st to August 6th.
The Czech government has supported the proposal of the Ministry of Sport to ban the participation of certain athletes and sports teams representing the Russian Federation in sports competitions on Czech territory. This decision means not only a prohibition for Russians and their representatives to participate in local competitions but also prevents individual athletes and sports teams representing the Czech Republic from competing in events in Russia.
The Council of Europe leadership supports a call to the International Olympic Committee to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 competitions.
As previously reported by The Gaze, Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan, who defeated Russian fencer Anna Smirnova (15:7), refused to shake hands with the Russian representative and instead saluted by tapping her saber. The Russian athlete refused to leave the podium for about 50 minutes in protest, citing "disrespect." Subsequently, Olga Kharlan was disqualified by the World Championship organizing committee.
The President of the Ukrainian Fencing Federation, Mykhailo Ilyashev, stated during a national telethon that the Federation will challenge the decision to disqualify Olga Kharlan.
Natalia Konrad, the head coach of the Ukrainian national fencing team, mentioned that previously, the rules at the Championship allowed athletes to greet each other with a saber salute. However, on July 26th, an emergency meeting of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) took place, during which this rule was abolished. Nevertheless, there was no official announcement regarding the rule change.