Russian Pro Tennis Player Slams Polish Airline After She Was Refused Boarding and Made to Sleep On the Floor in Cairo Airport

A Russian professional tennis player who has earned more than $1.7 million in prize money alone says she was forced to sleep on the floor of Cairo Airport after Poland’s flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines refused to let her board a flight to Warsaw because she held a Russian passport.

Vitalia Diatchenko, who was born in Sochi, Russia, took to Instagram to complain about the way the airline treated her ahead of a recent flight, asking in a disappearing ‘story’ whether it “really helps to improve (the) situation for the (sic) peace”.

Diatchenko, 32, is currently ranked 250th in the world according to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and started playing tennis at just five years old. She reached a career-high of 71st in the women’s singles rankings back in 2014.

The veteran player was attempting to travel to Corsica to play in the Calvi Ladies Open and had planned to travel with LOT Polish Airlines from Cairo via Warsaw. But when she reached the ticket counter in Cairo Airport, Diatchenko was told she wouldn’t be allowed onboard.

“Incidentally, I had all the support letters from the WTA, ITF (International Tennis Federation) but in modern tennis this doesn’t seem to make any difference in reality,” Diatchenko railed in her Instagram post.

“Furthermore, I had support letters from my father, who is originally born in Ukraine and working for the United Nations,” the post continued. “As a result, stuck for 18 hours in Cairo airport, sleeping on benches, no food available and not allowed to leave the airport!”

LOT Polish Airlines has confirmed that it refused to let Diatchenko onboard its flight in Cairo, saying it had to comply with rules drawn up by Poland’s interior ministry that restricts the movement of Russian citizens from outside the Schengen area.

Europe already bans all direct flights between Russia and the EU bloc of countries, which means that Russian players like Diatchenko have to first travel to a neutral third country before attempting to enter Europe.

Diatchenko says she also attempted to book a ticket with Lufthansa, but the German flag carrier also refused to fly her to Corsica. Lufthansa did not respond to a request for comment.

In another post, Diatchenko said Russian athletes should not be dragged into the response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many tournaments, including Wimbledon, are now allowing Russian players to compete as ‘neutral’ players.