Former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova confirms her deportation from the Czech Republic as controversy surrounds the Prague Open
The Russian player confirmed via Instagram that she was amongst the players deported during the Prague Open.
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Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Credits: WTA tour)
Former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova recently confirmed that she was amongst the players that were deported from the Czech Republic on the eve of the upcoming Prague Open. The news comes after the Prague Open’s decision to not have Russian and Belarusian players compete in the tournament came to light.
Pavlyuchenkova took to Instagram, confirming her non-participation. “I won’t be able to participate in the tournament in Prague next week,” she wrote.
She further wrote that she will instead focus on the upcoming series of hardcourt tournaments in the North American mainland, colloquially called the North American Hardcourt swing. “I’m continuing my hard preparations for the American series. See you in Cincinnati,” she wrote.
The upcoming Prague Open has been at the center of much controversy, and for good reason. They have gained notoriety for their decision to not play Russian / Belarusian players despite the WTA’s neutrality towards these players. Additionally, their manner of handling the situation too has faced the ire of fans and tennis professionals worldwide.
In a shocking move, the Czech police conducted a raid to determine players who had entered the country on a Russian / Belarusian visa. The police established sufficient reasons to terminate the player’s temporary stay in the Czech Republic. They then issued an exit order with a deadline for leaving the country.
WTA’s response to the Prague Open controversy
The WTA has taken note of this issue and has released a statement confirming that they’re looking into the matter.
The statement read, “Despite their neutrality, the Czech authorities are denying some female tennis players the opportunity to participate in the tournament in Prague next week. WTA rules stipulate that all players must be allowed to participate in the WTA on the basis of merit alone, without discrimination. We will continue to review the situation taking into account the important considerations related to these complex geopolitical issues.”
The move of preventing Russian / Belarusian tennis players on such a short notice, especially when it has for long been the collective policy of the WTA to stay neutral on the matter of the Russia – Ukraine war, will definitely hurt the reputation of the Prague Open tournament. It remains to be seen how to tournament will turn out in light of these controversies.
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Ketan Kunkalikar
(129 Articles Published)