Russia's Vera Zvonareva banned from entering Poland for WTA 250 tournament

Russian tennis player Vera Zvonareva has been banned from entering Poland, the country's Interior Ministry said. She was to participate in a WTA 250 tournament in Warsaw starting Monday.

An official statement on the ministry website said that the Polish Border Guard on Friday prevented entry by the former world No.2, who flew in from Belgrade on a French visa. She remained in the transit zone of the Warsaw airport and on Saturday flew to Podgorica, Montenegro.

Zvonareva, currently ranked 60th, was to take part in the PNB Paribas Warsaw Open tournament that begins Monday.

Poland, which supports Ukraine in its war against Russia's aggression, said that Zvonareva was on a banned list and not allowed into the country for reasons of state and public security.

The statement stressed that Poland is consistent in opposing the “regime of (Russian and Belarusian Presidents Vladimir) Putin and (Alexander) Lukashenko” and is not allowing "people who support Russian and Belarusian actions to enter our country.”