Russian and Belarusian gamers banned from a girls’s tennis event in Prague

PRAGUE — Russian and Belarusian gamers is not going to be allowed to take part in subsequent week’s Prague Open, the organizers of the ladies’s tennis occasion stated Friday.

The announcement got here a day after police prevented a Russian participant from getting into the nation, organizers stated.

Miroslav Malý, the director of the hard-court event, didn’t determine the participant. Malý stated she was the primary participant with a Russian passport to reach within the nation.

He stated organizers approached different Russian and Belarusian gamers via the Women’s Tennis Association to inform them to not journey to Prague.

Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus was to play singles in Prague whereas three Russians, Diana Shnaider, Polina Kudermetova and Erika Andreeva, had been to play in qualifying.

The WTA Tour permits Russians and Belarusians to play tournaments as impartial athletes.

The Czech authorities has banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from sports competitions on Czech territory due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.