The story around Vera Zvonareva, who was not allowed to enter the country to participate in the WTA tournament, was still unabated, declaring that her presence in Poland was almost a threat to national security, when a new scandal. This time it took place in another European country, the Czech Republic, but the image turned out to be like two peas in a pod. The girl who arrived at the tournament in Prague (her name is not yet known) was detained at the airport and the deportation decision was immediately made.
After that, the director of the competition, Miroslav Maly, made a proud statement that the first of our tennis players to arrive at the tournament had already been sent home, and the rest of the Russian and Belarusian passport holders were not expected in the Czech capital to avoid a repeat of the situation. At the same time, Maly mentioned the fact that the WTA was notified about the decision of the country’s authorities.
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It is clear that the decision on the entry of foreign citizens is ultimately made not by the organizing committees of the tournaments, but by state bodies, in this case, the Czech Republic. But Maly, by his statement, in fact declared his support for such measures. In this regard, it is interesting to observe the reaction of the international tennis authorities, who at first loudly broadcast about the equality of all members of the association and even organized demonstration actions in the form of depriving last year’s Wimbledon of the right to distribute rating points, and then contradict themselves. If the position on this issue were clear and unambiguous, then tournaments as insignificant on the world calendar as the Polish and the Czech ones could simply have their licenses revoked without risking huge loss of image and even too much resonance. But the leadership of world tennis, instead, continues to engage in demagogy, which ultimately undermines the credibility of its activities among both players and ordinary fans.
Our athletes have to take it for granted that there are a number of countries where, to put it mildly, they are not welcome. And this list is constantly expanding day by day. So any further attempt to break through the same wall of misunderstanding may end as sadly as the hockey player Maxim Sergeyev, who was arrested in Poland on suspicion of espionage. Therefore, in the current situation, it is better to be a little more careful when setting the schedule of your tournament performances, so as not to risk getting involved in a criminal case, just for having come to do your job.
