Alaksandra Sasnovič excluded from Prague Open

July 28, BPN. Prague Open organizers have decided to exclude Belarusian and Russian players from the women’s tennis event, Sports.cz reports.

Belarus’ Alaksandra Sasnovič was planning to participate in the hard-court tennis tournament, to be held from July 31 to August 6.

The decision was made yesterday, when an unnamed Russian player arrived in Prague only to be instructed to leave the country by police at the airport.

After Russia invaded Ukraine from Belarus in February 2022, the International Olympic Committee advised sports federations to ban Belarusians and Russians from international competitions.

But the Women’s Tennis Association allows them to compete under a neutral flag.

In January, Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka won the Australian Open, claiming the first Grand Slam title of her career.