Between 1 and 3 December, the Northern Palmyra Trophies team competition will be held in St. Petersburg with several distinguished foreign players in the starting field – while the war against Ukraine is ongoing.

Despite this, the women's tour WTA announces that it sees no obstacle to participation in the tournament.

"Players competing on the WTA Tour have the opportunity to participate in an exhibition tournament without sanctions during the off-season," WTA officials told Reuters.

"The WTA does not support the event"

However, the WTA emphasizes that it does not want to be associated with the tournament.

"This event is not affiliated with the WTA, nor does the WTA support the holding of the event," it said.

The ATP has not commented on its stance on the tournament, which has a predominantly Russian field. Foreign players include Yulia Putintseva, Kazakhstan, Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain, and Adrian Mannarino from France.

Russian players are allowed to participate in WTA and ATP Tour tournaments, as neutrals.

SEE MORE: Statistics show: Almost all sports have opened the door for Russia (October 12)

Javascript is disabled

Javascript must be enabled to play video

Learn more about browser support

Only three Summer Olympics still have their doors completely closed to Russian participants. Photo: TT/Bildbyrån