Polish border guards have prevented former world number two Vera Zvonareva from entering the country to take part in the Poland Open tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Warsaw from 23 to 30 July. The 38-year-old Beijing 2008 Olympic Games medallist was on the list of participants, but was not allowed to go further than the airport.

"Border guards did not allow Russian tennis player Vera Zvonareva to enter Poland on a visa issued by France. The athlete arrived in our capital on a flight from Belgrade," the website of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

After a long wait in the transit zone of Warsaw Chopin Airport, Zvonareva flew back to Podgorica.

"Poland has consistently opposed the regimes of Putin and Lukashenko, refusing entry to our country to people who support the actions of Russia and Belarus," the Polish Foreign Ministry said on its website.

It is worth noting that in 2014, during the occupation of Crimea, Zvonareva thanked Putin on social media for "appealing to all nations and publicly explaining his position on this issue".

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