Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time grand-slam winner, will not be able to defend her Washington title next week because of "US visa problems".

Kuznetsova, a Russian national who won the US Open in 2004 and Roland Garros five years later, wrote on Instagram on Thursday that: “Unfortunately I had to pull out of Washington due to my problems with US visa.”

Kuznetsova, the Citi Open in Washington D.C. champion last year, continued: “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!”

The idea that Kuznetsova might be denied entry to America first surfaced during Wimbledon when she told Russian Eurosport that she had applied for a visa in February but was yet to hear back. Now 34 and ranked outside the world's top 100 after a series of injuries, Kuznetsova had been hoping for a positive US hard-court swing following a first-round exit at Wimbledon.

America has no blanket ban of Russians entering the country, but the nation is not part of the Visa Waiver Programme that allows citizens from counties like the UK to enter without one. Russians by contrast must apply for a visa, which can be rejected at the US government's discretion. There may also be delays if an applicant requires additional screening for any reason.