Tennis Australia Moves To Ban Russian Flags From Australian Open

Tennis Australia has banned Russian and Belarusian flags at the Australian Open tournament, after a Russian flag was seen courtside on Monday.

Fans hung up the flag on court 14 when viewing the first-round match between Ukraine's Kateryna Baindl and Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova.

Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko shared his frustrations at the fan's act, releasing a tweet. 

"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," he said.

"I call on Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its ‘neutral flag’ policy."

Tennis Australia later released a statement, confirming a ban on flags at Melbourne Park.

"Flags from Russia and Belarus are banned onsite at the Australian Open," a statement read on Tuesday.

"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."

Both Russian and Belarusian players are clear to compete in this year's Grand Slam event, yet not under their flag or name of country. The ruling is common among world sport since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Players from the two nations were barred from playing at Wimbledon, consequently stripping players from receiving ranking points for the tournament.

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