The WTA said it would be “evaluating the issue further with the event” after Russian player Vera Zvonareva was blocked from entering Poland for a tournament.
Zvonareva, a former Wimbledon and US Open finalist, had been due to play in next week’s Warsaw Open in singles and doubles but a statement from Poland’s Ministry of the Interior and Administration said she was on a list of “undesirable” visitors.
The statement on gov.pl read: “Yesterday, July 21, the Border Guard prevented a Russian tennis player from entering Poland.
“Vera Zvonareva, using a visa issued by France, tried to get to our country on a flight from Belgrade to Warsaw. After arriving from Serbia, the tennis player stayed in the transit zone of Chopin Airport in Warsaw and today after 12.00pm flew to Podgorica.
“The Russian woman on the list of persons whose stay is undesirable in the territory of the Republic of Poland was not admitted by the Border Guard for reasons of state security and protection of public safety.
“Poland consistently opposes the regimes of (Vladimir) Putin and (Alexander) Lukashenko, refusing to allow people who support the actions of Russia and Belarus to enter our country.”
Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association were penalised by the tours for banning Russian and Belarusian players last summer following the invasion of Ukraine, a position they reversed this year.
The governing body said in a statement: “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.”
Poland has been one of the staunchest allies of Ukraine, while world number one Iga Swiatek, who will be the top seed at the tournament, has publicly sided with players from the stricken country amid locker room tensions.
The country’s Minister of Sport, Kamil Bortniczuk, earlier this week said he would boycott matches featuring Russian or Belarusian players.
Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich does appear to have made it into the country based on her social media posts.
Meanwhile, another Russian player, Anastasia Potapova, said on Instagram that she would be unable to play in the Hamburg European Open because a visa was not granted on time.
“Very sad to announce that I’m not going to participate in Hamburg this year, due to difficulties with visa,” she said. “Me and my team applied for it on time, but unfortunately it was delayed.”
Potapova was warned by the WTA earlier this year after wearing a Spartak Moscow football shirt on court.
French Open impose alcohol ban after crowd issues at Roland-Garros
French Open spectators will no longer be able to consume alcohol from the stands, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has revealed.
The move has been made in a bid to end unruly behaviour within the crowd following a couple of incidents at Roland-Garros this week.
Reigning women's champion Iga Swiatek pleaded for supporters to keep quiet during points after her second-round victory over Naomi Osaka, while David Goffin had chewing gum spat at him in his win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
While alcohol will still be available on the concourses, Mauresmo says there will be tougher security measures in place to identify offenders, while umpires are encouraged to be stricter when calling for respect "to the players and to the game".
"First of all, we are happy people are very enthusiastic about watching tennis and being part of the matches, showing feeling and emotions," the tournament director said.
"But there are definitely steps which shouldn't go further. A few things have needed to be put in place. Alcohol has been allowed up until now in the stands - but that's over."
"Overstepping these two things is not something we will tolerate. If people want to show emotion, that's great and see how it happens. I'm an optimist and I think people will react in a good way. If not, we will take more measures."
Dominant Zverev sees off Goffin to reach third round at French Open
Alexander Zverev cruised through to the third round of the French Open with a straight-sets victory over David Goffin on Thursday.
The fourth seed followed up his impressive win over 14-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal in the last round by beating Goffin 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-2 after two hours and 22 minutes on the court.
Zverev was pushed all the way in the opening set before eventually edging it, and his intensity and power carried him through the rest of the match.
Despite making five unforced errors in the second set, the German remained in control and did not face a single break point in the third to advance.
He will play either Tallon Griekspoor or Luciano Darderi in the next round as he continues to chase his first major title.
Data Debrief: Zverev continues dominance on clay
Zverev has won eight consecutive matches on clay for the first time since 2019, when he won eight between Geneva and Roland Garros.
This was a significant victory, too, as it is his 90th in Grand Slam events - only Boris Becker and Tommy Haas have more among German players in men's singles.
Svitolina and Rybakina remain on collision course for French Open fourth round
Elina Svitolina and Elena Rybakina remain on course for a French Open fourth-round showdown, after the pair enjoyed straight-sets victories in round two.
Rybakina was a 6-3 6-4 winner over Arantxa Rus in 67 minutes, while Svitolina battled past local favourite Diane Parry 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in just under two hours at Roland-Garros.
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina is still yet to drop a set at this season's clay-court major.
Her opponent was seeking another scalp at the French Open, having stunned second seed Kim Clijsters at this stage back in 2011.
However, despite a spirited display, there was to be no such fairytale for the 33-year-old Dutchwoman 13 years on, with Rybakina hitting 28 winners to 20 unforced errors on the way to victory.
The Kazakhstani is back in round three for a third straight year, though she was forced to withdraw injured before her last-32 clash with Sara Sorribes Tormo 12 months ago.
Meanwhile, Svitolina faced another tough battle, having been forced to come from behind to beat former world number one Karolina Pliskova in the opening round.
Runner-up to Coco Gauff in Auckland at the start of the year, the Ukrainian has not progressed beyond the last 16 of any event since, but just had too much for Parry on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Data Debrief: Svitolina matches Sharapova and Stosur
A four-time quarter-finalist at Roland-Garros, Svitolina is through to round three for a ninth successive appearance.
The 15th seed is the first player to do that since Maria Sharapova (13 from 2004) and Sam Stosur (10 from 2009) in 2018.
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