Russian flags banned after Australian Open court incident

Russian and Belarusian flags are banned at the 2023 Australian Open after an incident on Tuesday.

Some fans displayed a Russian flag during a match between Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl and Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova – with Ukrainian fans accusing Russian viewers of “mocking” Baindl during the Melbourne Park clash.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is still ongoing and the organizers of the Australian Open have now decided to immediately ban Russian and Belarusian flags, after initially allowing fans to take them as long as they do not “disturb” them cause.

Ukrainian spectators said they had called police and security ahead of Monday’s first round match, while Russian fans claimed they were merely cheering for their compatriot during the big tennis tournament.

Tennis Australia said in a statement: “We will continue to work with players and our fans to ensure the best possible environment for tennis.”

A Ukrainian supporter told local outlet The Age: “This is very unsafe, the war is going on.

“It’s a small pitch, the guys were very close to the players, so there was some of it that I found intimidating.”

A Russian viewer added: “We received a few complaints, but we didn’t bully, we just encouraged the Russian player because she only had one supporter, her mother.

“It’s not like we’re waving Nazi flags and ISIS flags. It’s a sovereign country.”

Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia, tweeted during the match: “I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Baindl’s match at the Australian Open.

“I call on Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its neutral flag policy.”

The Russian Embassy in Australia hit back, writing: “The decision to ban the appearance of Russian and Belarusian flags on the Australian Open grounds is another example of the sport’s unacceptable politicization.”

Australian politician Jacinta Allan, acting Prime Minister of Victoria, believes Tennis Australia made the right decision to ban the flags.

“The Russian invasion of Ukraine is abhorrent,” she said. “It violates international human rights obligations. It is powered and supported by Belarus.

‘[This] sends a very, very clear signal that human rights matter, whether in sports or more generally in our community.”

Tennis players from Russia and Belarus have been banned from playing under their country’s flag since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The ATP and WTA websites do not have either flag on their rankings pages – the flags next to the names of the Russian and Belarusian players have been removed and replaced with a blank white square where they normally would be.

Wimbledon organizers took it a step further during their 2022 championships and banned Russian and Belarusian players from participating, dividing opinion and eventually leading to the ATP and WTA stripping the tournament of their ranking points.