Russian and Belarusian players banned from a women’s tennis tournament in Prague

PRAGUE (AP) — The organizers of a women’s tennis tournament in the Czech Republic say Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to participate in next week’s Prague Open. The announcement comes a day after police prevented a Russian player from entering the country. The director of the hard-court tournament did not identify the player but he says she was the first player with a Russian passport to arrive in the country. He says other Russian and Belarusian players were told not to travel to Prague. The Women’s Tennis Association allows players from the two countries to compete as neutral athletes but the Czech government has banned them. The WTA says all players must be allowed to compete “based solely on merit, without discrimination.”