The Russia-Ukraine conflict last year caused a massive shift in the global spectrum. While the supply chain and availability of essentials were left in limbo, numerous families were affected by the unfortunate event. Additionally, the sporting world was affected too, with many sporting organizations coming out harshly against the countries responsible for it. Take for example tennis. Last year, Wimbledon put a ban on Russian and Belarusian players from participating in the tournament. Players like Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova were affected by this decision. Recently, another similar incident took place.

Following the end of the grass court and clay court season, the action has now moved on to the hard courts with the year-ending Grand Slam tournament, the US Open in sight. However, even before the start of it, Russian and Belarusian received a major blow. In response to it, Russian star, Pavlyuchenkova issued a statement.

What did Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova say?

The 32-year-old took to social media to announce that she won’t be participating in the WTA 250 Livesport Prague Open. Posting a story on her official Instagram handle, Pavlyuchenkova said, “Hi guys! As you saw the previous post, I will not be able to participate in Prague next week…” Further, talking about her preparations for the year-ending Grand Slam tournament, she went on to add, “I continue my preparation on hard courts for US series now. See you in Cincinnati and US Open.”

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In the earlier story, Pavlyuchenkova shared WTA’s statement regarding the Czech Republic government’s decision to disallow some Russian and Belarusian players from participating in the tournament. Further, they added that they’ll review the situation to sort out these complications based on geopolitical tensions.

Pavlyuchenkova stopped by Prague police

Hours before, it was reported that an unnamed Russian tennis star was stopped by police officials from entering the Czech Republic for the WTA 250 tournament. Later, it was found that the player in question was the 98th-ranked Pavlyuchenkova. It was the result of a new government resolution, that prevented any Russian or Belarusian players from participating in any event in the Czech Republic.

As a result, Pavlyuchenkova’s US Open preparations have been left in limbo. Can she come back stronger in the upcoming tournaments? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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