Brittney Griner's appeal against her nine-year prison sentence will be held Oct. 25, Russian court says

The Moscow region court said it will hear her appeal.

At the time, Griner, recognized as one of the greatest players in WNBA history, was returning to Russia, where she played during the U.S.

Reflecting the growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, U.S.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a "substantial proposal" to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.

Blinken didn't elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S.

The White House said it has not yet received a productive response from Russia to the offer.

The White House said after the meetings that the president stressed to the families his "continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely.".