A Russian court has extended the detention of the W.N.B.A. star Brittney Griner to May 19, the Russian news agency Tass reported on Thursday, adding tension to the most dangerous moment in U.S.-Russia relations since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
Ms. Griner, 31, a seven-time W.N.B.A. All-Star center for the Phoenix Mercury, is being held on drug charges that could carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
The Russian Federal Customs Service said earlier this month that its officials had detained the American basketball player after they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow in February. They did not immediately release the name of Ms. Griner, who was later identified by Tass.
Ms. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is one of several W.N.B.A. players who compete on international women’s teams in the off-season to supplement paychecks that are a fraction of their counterparts’ salaries in the N.B.A. She has played for the Russian team, UMMC Ekaterinburg, since 2014.