Three Russian gymnasts denied Dutch visas ahead of Rotterdam world championships
The Netherlands has refused visas to three members of the Russian women's gymnastics team, preventing them from competing at next week's World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, which are scheduled for 17-25 October. The trio named by the Russian Gymnastics Federation comprises Angelina Melnikova, Viktoria Listunova and Anna Kalmykova.
The Russian Gymnastics Federation (RGF) has labelled the decision "discrimination" and a "violation" of the principles of equal competition, accusing the Dutch authorities of deliberately trying to keep the "strongest gymnasts" out of the event. "The Embassy of the Netherlands in Moscow has notified the visa centre of its refusal to issue visas to three leaders of the Russian women's national team," the RGF said in a statement. "As a result, the gymnasts have been deprived of the opportunity to compete at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships."
Angelina Melnikova is the reigning women's all-around world champion, having won gold at the 2025 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta. The RGF identified Viktoria Listunova and Anna Kalmykova alongside Melnikova as the three affected athletes. The federation referred to the trio as leaders of the Russian women's national team in its statement.
In August, Melnikova was initially denied a visa to compete at the European Championships in Croatia. That decision was later reversed on appeal. She subsequently won the all-around gold medal at that European Championships.
The Dutch refusals mean the world championships will be affected by visa denials for a second consecutive year. Israeli gymnasts were denied entry to Indonesia for the 2025 championships in Jakarta because of the country's involvement in the conflict in Gaza. The group refused entry to Indonesia included defending world floor champion Artem Dolgopyat.
Russia is scaling up its push to be brought back into the world of sport, following years of restrictions after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the uncovering of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. In July the IOC eased restrictions on Russian athletes, opening a path for them to compete in qualifying events for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. National tennis federations have decided Russia and Belarus should remain banned from competing in the Davis Cup and BJK Cup team competitions; the two countries were suspended by World Tennis - formerly known as the International Tennis Federation (ITF) - in March 2022 and a vote by the 128 member nations on Tuesday has ruled the restrictions should stay in place.
Russia said it would appeal against the visa refusals to the World Gymnastics governing body and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships are due to run from 17-25 October in Rotterdam.