Svetlana Kuznetsova will not defend her Citi Open title because of visa issues.
Kuznetsova, who is Russian, announced Thursday on Twitter that she is withdrawing from the tennis tournament, which will begin next week in Washington.
“Wanted to apologize to all my fans who were waiting for me there ..Never had issues like this in my life, hopefully one day I can finally get a visa and play at list [sic] some events of the US swing!” wrote Kuznetsova, a two-time Grand Slam champion.
It is unclear whether the 34-year-old will be granted entry into the country in time for next month’s U.S. Open, an event she won in 2004. In an Instagram post from July 13, the Russian said she has been waiting for a U.S. visa since February.
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