Russian and Belarusian players banned from next week's WTA event in Prague

PRAGUE (AP) — Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to participate in next week's Prague Open, the organizers of the women's tennis event said Friday.

The announcement came a day after police prevented a Russian player from entering the country, organizers said.

Miroslav Malý, the director of the hard-court tournament, didn't identify the player. Malý said she was the first participant with a Russian passport to arrive in the country.

He said organizers approached other Russian and Belarusian players through the Women's Tennis Association to tell them not to travel to Prague.

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

The WTA Tour allows Russians and Belarusians to play tournaments as neutral athletes.

The Czech government has banned athletes from Russia and Belarus from sports competitions on Czech territory because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, Russian tennis player Vera Zvonareva was banned from entering Poland for a WTA tournament in Warsaw.