INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Tennis Australia on Tuesday banned Russian and Belarusian flags at the Australian Open after Ukraines ambassador demanded action when they
were seen among the crowd.Moscow called the restriction an inappropriate politicization of sports
The red, white and blue stripes of Russia were held up by fans during Mondays first-round clash between Ukraines Kateryna Baindl and Russias
Kamilla Rakhimova on day one.Ukrainian fans supposedly called security and cops to the stands.A Russian flag was also unfurled on Rod Laver
Arena throughout Daniil Medvedevs clash with American Marcos Giron
Flags from Russia and Belarus are prohibited onsite at the Australian Open, Tennis Australia said in a statement
Our initial policy was that fans might bring them in however might not utilize them to cause disturbance
Yesterday, we had an event where a flag was placed courtside
The restriction works right away
We will continue to deal with the players and our fans to ensure the very best possible environment to take pleasure in the tennis
Since Russias intrusion of Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian gamers have actually generally competed under a neutral white flag as
independents, as holds true at the Australian Open.Ukraines ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, had late Monday
called on Tennis Australia to act
I strongly condemn the public display screen of the Russian flag throughout the game of the Ukrainian tennis gamer Kateryna Baindl at the
Australian Open, he tweeted
I contact Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its neutral flag policy
The diplomat recently advised the Australian Open to ban Russian and Belarusian gamers completely, the latter due to Belaruss support of
Vladimir Putin.Wimbledon went down that path in 2015, disallowing gamers from both nations, causing the tournament being stripped of its
ranking points by the ATP and WTA.Prior to the flag restriction, previous Australian ambassador to Ukraine, Doug Trappett, who served in the
function from 2015 to 2016, slammed Australian Open organizers.Writing on Twitter, he called it embarrassing
You could have prohibited Russian gamers and positioned yourself to offer a robust response to such foreseeable events but you chose
spinelessness, he tweeted.Russias Embassy in Australia countered at the restriction, calling it another example of undesirable
On top of currently discriminating against Russian tennis gamers with its neutral flag policy, Tennis Australia now went even more by
making certain they can not be visibly supported by their fans, it stated in a declaration
It is undoubtedly regrettable to see the tournament organizers succumb to obvious and rather conceited political adjustment sacrificing the
spirit of reasonable play when fundamental to the Australian Open
Baindl won her match 7-5, 6-7, (8/10), 6-1 and will deal with American Caty McNally in the 2nd round.Ukrainian-Australian fan Maria Tumarkin
told the Melbourne Age newspaper she was the one who called security, claiming Russian fans were heckling Baindl
This is exceptionally risky, the war is ongoing, she stated
Its a small court, the men were exceptionally close to the players, so there was an element of what I felt was intimidation
Belarusian world number five Aryna Sabalenka said she had no objection to the flag ban if everybody feels better this way
But she likewise believes that sport is nothing to do with politics
I have zero control on it
What can I say? They did it, alright, no flags, included Sabalenka, amongst the gamers affected by the Wimbledon restriction last
year.Asked if she might understand how some Ukrainian fans might be upset by seeing Russian or Belarusian flags, she replied: Im pretty
sure they (are) upset about that, and, if Tennis Australia made this decision to make them feel better, okay
