Zvonareva should file a complaint with the ITF, says Svishchev

Russian tennis player Vera Zvonareva should complain to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after the Polish border guard did not let her into the country to participate in the WTA tournament, said Dmitry Svishchev, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports.

– The first thing that Zvonareva and the Russian Tennis Federation should do now is to file a complaint with the International Tennis Federation. This should be done immediately. Moreover, Shamil Tarpishchev is an experienced and authoritative leader. We already have precedents when some countries were deprived of the rights to host major competitions because they could not provide visa support and the participation of our athletes. Here the situation is exactly the same. I think the ITF can similarly punish the organizers of the tournament in Warsaw if the hosts are not able to provide the Russians with neither security nor safety. Why then do they take on such responsibility? They don’t know how – let them learn from others, for example, from Russia, – said Svishchev RT.

He called the incident with the Russian tennis player a provocation.

– In such a vile way they are trying to attract the attention of the world community. It is clear that Poland does not treat us in the best way now. But in no case should this be reflected in athletes. Yes, if one of the Polish athletes came to us, believe me, he would be received at the highest level. They would provide both visa support and security in case of emergency,” Svishchev added.

The WTA 250 category tournament will be held in Warsaw from 24 to 30 July. Zvonareva is on the list of participants.

• “Team Zvonareva miscalculated. It was not necessary to declare in this Poland ”- Kamelzon
• “This is a problem that will have to be solved for years to come.” Guberniev – about the situation with Zvonareva on the border with Poland