The Women's National Basketball Association player and US national team star is serving a nine-year sentence for drug possession, after hashish oil was found in her suitcase at an airport near Moscow.

She was due to compete in the Russian Premier League in the American off-season with her team UMMC Ekaterinburg.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a tweet that representatives had met with Griner noting her resilience.

"They saw first-hand her tenacity and perseverance despite her present circumstances," said Price.

"We continue to press for the immediate release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan and fair treatment for every detained American."

Whelan was sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges in 2020, something that his family say is false.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre added that Griner "is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances" and that the American Government were looking towards an early release.

Griner was sentenced to nine years after admitting to having cannabis oil vape canisters in her luggage, but said they were packed inadvertently.

She won back-to-back Olympic titles at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.