Melbourne, Australia: The Australian Open organisers have banned Russian and Belarusian flags from the tennis tournament after a courtside incident. The ban was announced after a complaint from the Ukrainian ambassador to the country.
Earlier, spectators were allowed to bring the flags into Melbourne Park on the condition they did not cause “disruption.”
But the organisers reversed that decision after fans displayed a Russian flag during a match between Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl and Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova. Ukrainian fans reportedly called security and police to the stands during the incident.
A Russian flag was also unfurled at Rod Laver Arena during Daniil Medvedev’s clash with American Marcos Giron.
“I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during the Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Baindl’s game at the Australian Open today,” Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia and New Zealand Mr. Vasyl Myroshnychenko tweeted.
“I call on Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its ‘neutral flag’ policy,” the ambassador added.
Russian and Belarusian athletes have not been able to play under their countries’ flags in several sports, including tennis, since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
The players from both countries were banned from Wimbledon in 2022 but are able to compete as individual athletes under a neutral white flag without national affiliation at the Australian Open.
The organisers were subsequently fined, and the tournament was stripped of its ranking points by the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). The WTA noted that equal opportunities for players to compete as individuals had to be protected.
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