The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) will not impose sanctions on players participating in a Russian exhibition tournament this weekend. The second edition of the Northern Palmyra Trophies competition will take place between December 1st and 3rd in St Petersburg, Russia. The event, sponsored by Russian energy giant Gazprom, comes amid sanctions on Russian athletes over the military offensive in Ukraine.
“This event is not affiliated with the WTA and we do not endorse the event taking place. Players at their discretion have the opportunity to participate in an exhibition tournament without penalty in the off-season”, said the women’s tennis governing body.
Among the players to take part are former French and US Open quarter-finalist Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan), the world’s No 28 Anastasia Potapova (Russia) and former Roland Garros quarter-finalist Veronika Kudermetova (Russia).
The other players taking part in the Northern Palmyra Trophies tournament are Diana Shneider (Russia) and Viktoriya Tomova (Bulgaria).
The ATP took a similar stance on the issue.
