A Russian tennis player was refused boarding to a flight operated by Polish flag carrier LOT, the airline confirmed on Tuesday, in an incident that drew an angry response from the athlete on social media."I slept at the airport, I was treated like a third class citizen (because of my nationality), spent a few thousand euro," Vitalia Diatchenko wrote.
Tennis player Vitalia Diatchenko said on Monday she was refused boarding to a LOT flight in Cairo, with German airline Lufthansa then also refusing to sell her a ticket.
"I slept at the airport, I was treated like a third class citizen (because of my nationality), spent a few thousand euro," Diatchenko wrote. The 32-year old said she had been attempting to travel to a tournament in Corsica via Warsaw and Nice.
In an emailed statement, LOT confirmed it had not allowed the player to board, citing restrictions introduced by Poland's interior ministry during the COVID-19 pandemic and updated in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"The provisions of the regulation introduce restrictions at certain border crossings, including airport crossings, in relation to citizens of the Russian Federation traveling from outside the Schengen area," LOT said in an emailed statement.
The European Union has banned all flights from Russia and has agreed to limit issuing free-travel Schengen zone visas. In September, Finland joined the Baltic states and Poland in closing its borders to Russian tourists.
Diatchenko, who is ranked 250th in the world by the Women's Tennis Association, said she then tried to buy a ticket with Lufthansa, but was told she could only enter the Schengen zone via Spain as it had issued her visa.
Lufthansa had no immediate comment.
Players sign declaration before Wimbledon
Several Russian and Belarusian players have already signed personal declarations that will clear them to compete as neutrals at this year's Wimbledon championships, the All England Club said on Tuesday.
Wimbledon announced last month that it had lifted its ban which prevented athletes from the two countries playing last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Speaking at the club's pre-tournament Spring media conference, Club chairman Ian Hewitt said the U-turn had been the hardest decision of his four years in the job.
"This was an incredibly difficult decision," he told reporters. "I think our statement on March 31 set out the position as clearly as we could, namely that there were a combination of factors and it was a combination of factors and developments since last year which led to our decision."
Wimbledon and the other British grasscourt tournaments stood alone in barring Russian and Belarusian players such as former world number ones Daniil Medvedev and Victoria Azarenka last year.
The decision resulted in ranking points being stripped from the events and the Lawn Tennis Association being hit with huge fines by the ATP and WTA.
No pro-war statements
To compete this year, Russian and Belarusian players must agree to compete as neutrals, not to make statements supporting the war or the regimes involved and not to receive funding from either nation or state-supported businesses.
"The development of the wording of the declarations is obviously based on government guidance, working with the Tours, the ITF and our partners at the LTA," All England Club CEO Sally Bolton said on Tuesday.
"As soon as we made the announcement players were able to sign the declarations and they are able to right up until the entry deadline. I won't share the details of who but a number of players have already signed," Bolton added.
"We listened to the feedback from athletes from last year and that was that they wanted the choice to be able to sign the declaration. They fully understand what they are signing up to."
U-turn criticised
Wimbledon's U-turn attracted some criticism with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba calling it "immoral".
Bolton said she had personally spoken to Ukrainian players at the time of the announcement and that the majority had understood the situation and the club's decision.
Hewitt reemphasised Wimbledon's "condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine", which Moscow calls a special militry operation, and said that the tournament would continue to support players and refugees from the country.
Wimbledon will meet all of the accommodation costs of Ukraine players during the tournament and all of the build-up events in the British grasscourt season, while one pound will be donated to Ukraine relief efforts for every ticket sold -- amounting to around 500,000 pounds ($621,150.00).
Other announcements included a continuation of play on the middle Sunday, which came into effect last year, and the extension of a trial allowing players to receive coaching from their entourages in the stands.
An announcement on prize money will be made in June
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: Getty Images