Australian Open 2023: Russia, Belarus flags banned at Melbourne Park

Melbourne: Russian and Belarusian flags were banned at the Australian Open on Tuesday after Ukraine’s ambassador sought action when they were seen in the crowd during a match. The decision was announced by Tennis Australia and immediately applied at the first major of the season. Russian embassy in Australia, in turn, called it “another example of unacceptable politicisation of sports”. Russia’s flag was spotted on Monday during a match between Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl and Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova. Later, a Russian flag was also unfurled during two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev’s clash with Marcos Giron on Rod Laver Arena. Medvedev was offered the flag to sign after his straight set win. “Flags from Russia and Belarus are banned onsite at the Australian Open,” said Tennis Australia in a statement. “Our initial policy was that fans could bring them in but could not use them to cause disruption. Yesterday, we had an incident where a flag was placed courtside. “The ban is effective immediately. We will continue to work with the players and our fans to ensure the best possible environment to enjoy the tennis.” Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka, who posted a routine 6-1, 6-4 victory to progress to the second round, said she would prefer to keep politics and sports separate, but understands the decision by Tennis Australia. “I mean, if everyone feels better this way, then it’s OK,” said three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Sabalenka. “I have zero control on it. What can I say? They did it. OK. No flags? No flags.” Local media reported a fan had called security during the Baindl-Rakhimova match. “This is profoundly unsafe, the war is ongoing,” the fan told the Melbourne Age. “It’s a small court, the guys were extremely close to the players, so there was an element of what I felt was intimidation.” Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, had called on Tennis Australia to act on Monday. “I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during the game of the Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Baindl at the Australian Open,” he tweeted. “I call on Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its ’neutral flag’ policy.”

I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during the game of the Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Baindl at the Australian Open today. I call on Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its “neutral flag” policy. @TennisAustralia @AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/zw8pLN4FIF

— Vasyl Myroshnychenko (@AmbVasyl) January 16, 2023

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, tennis has employed a neutral flag policy where Russian and Belarusian players have competed as independents. They have also been barred from team competitions. Myroshnychenko had earlier demanded even tougher action. The ambassador had asked for Russian and Belarusian players to be banned completely. Wimbledon had gone down that road last year with the likes of Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Aryna Sabalenka not competing in the grass court major. As a result of All England Club’s decision, ATP, WTA and ITF, the regulatory bodies for the sport, Wimbledon was stripped of any ranking points. Additionally, Britain’s Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was slapped with a 620,000 pounds fine by the WTA and 820,000 by the ATP. Moscow condemns move “On top of already discriminating against Russian tennis players with its ’neutral flag’ policy, Tennis Australia now went further by making sure they can not be visibly supported by their fans,” the Russian embassy in Australia said in a statement. “It is indeed regrettable to see the tournament organisers give in to overt and rather arrogant political manipulation sacrificing the spirit of fair play once inherent to the Australian Open.” Read all the  Latest News ****,  Trending News ****,  Cricket News ****,  Bollywood News ****,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook****,  Twitter and  Instagram****.