Former World No. 2 on the WTA Tour, Vera Zvonareva was deported from Poland on Saturday after she was denied entry to the country.
The WTA has another problem on its hands, and this one will be tricky to handle. The Tour has been dealing with some tricky situations lately, starting with the news of Saudi Arabia wanting to buy into the sport. WTA Chief Steve Simon denied any talks with the country even though reports indicated that contact was established.
Besides that and the ongoing Ukraine War situation, the WTA now has to deal with countries actively turning players away. Longtime Russian pro Vera Zvonareva was recently denied entry into Poland, where she hoped to play at the Poland Open next week.
The Ministry of Defence explained the decision as one of public safety, basically using language that described Zvonareva as a threat to safety in Poland which is rather laughable. It certainly looks like an interesting case, which will be investigated, as some players were already accused of 'Russophobia' earlier this year. The WTA has now released a statement on the situation.
The WTA is aware of the situation involving Vera Zvonareva in Warsaw. The safety and well-being of all players is a top priority of the WTA. Vera has departed Poland and we will be evaluating the issue further with the event.
It's a complicated situation because the WTA can't really dictate the policy of a country. On the other hand, they have an obligation to protect the interests of all players, including Russian and Belarusian athletes.
It looks very similar to the LTA ban from last year, but that wasn't a ban from the country directly but rather from the tennis body. This is different and tough to navigate, but there aren't many tennis events taking place in Poland, so it will likely remain a lone incident. Remains to be seen.
Soon, the WTA may need to release another statement after Russian and Belarusian athletes were not allowed to compete at the 2023 Prague Open.
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