American basketball star Brittney Griner has been sent to a penal colony in Russia to serve her sentence for drug possession, her legal team said Wednesday.

A Russian court rejected an appeal of her nine-year sentence last month. The eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.

U.S. Embassy officials in Russia have met with imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner, the White House said Thursday.

“We are told she’s doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One after the State Department confirmed the meeting.

A Russian court on Tuesday rejected Brittney Griner’s appeal after the jailed WNBA star begged for forgiveness for her “mistake” — upholding her nine-year sentence on drug charges.

Griner and her lawyers had asked for acquittal or at least a more lenient sentence, which they said was disproportionate to the offense and at odds with Russian judicial practice.

The presiding judge said the verdict was upheld “without changes” except for the counting of time served in pre-trial detention as part of the sentence. Griner is now expected to be moved to a penal colony.

A Russian court on Tuesday upheld the nine-year prison sentence handed to American basketball star Brittney Griner for drug possession, rejecting her appeal.

Griner, an eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.

A Russian court on Tuesday dismissed U.S. WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner's appeal against a nine-year sentence for possessing and smuggling vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.

Griner and her lawyers had asked for acquittal or at least a reduction in her sentence, which they said was disproportionate to the offence and at odds with Russian judicial practice.

President Biden began meeting with family members of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan to discuss his continuing commitment to bringing them back home safely, the White House said Friday.

Griner's wife Cherelle, her agent Lindsay Colas, Whelan's sister Elizabeth and Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan were participating in the meetings, which began at 4:51 p.m. ET.

President Joe Biden met on Friday with Cherelle Griner, wife of Brittney Griner, and reassured her that he is working to gain the WNBA star's freedom.

Biden sat down in the Oval Office with Cherelle Griner as well as Elizabeth Whelan, sister of detained former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. Biden conducted the separate meetings to assure the families that the detainees "are at front of mind," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

President Joe Biden met on Friday with families of two Americans being held by Russia, and personally reassured them he is working to gain freedom for the detainees.

Biden sat down in the Oval Office with Cherelle Griner, wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner, and Elizabeth Whelan, sister of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

Biden conducted the separate meetings to assure the families that the detainees "are at front of mind," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Brittney Griner, the WNBA All-Star convicted of drug smuggling and possession after customs agents found less than a gram of cannabis oil in her luggage, is facing nine and a half years in a Russian penal colony. While the sentence is harsh, the worst of Griner's stay in Russia’s prison system could be yet to come if the U.S. and Russia don’t come to terms on a prisoner swap soon.

WNBA star Brittney Griner's defense team has filed an appeal against her conviction on drug charges in Russia, nearly two weeks after she was sentenced to nine years in jail by a Moscow court.

Her lawyer Maria Blagovolina said Monday the defense team had filed the appeal, in a statement via the Telegram messaging app. The move, which was widely expected, comes as Russia and the United States discuss a potential prisoner swap that would secure Griner's release.