The flags of the Russian Federation and Belarusians were banned at the Australian Open tennis tournament

At the 2023 Australian Open tennis championship, the organizers banned the display of the Russian and Belarusian flags. This happened after the mourning of the ambassador of Ukraine in Australia regarding the displayed tricolor during the game of the Ukrainian tennis player Ekaterina Byndl. This is reported by “Glavpost” Reuters, reports .

“Flags from Russia and Belarus are prohibited on the territory of the Australian Open. Our initial policy was that fans could bring them, but could not use them. (…) Yesterday we had an incident when a flag was placed on the court. The ban takes effect immediately. We will continue to work with players and our fans to provide the best possible environment to enjoy tennis,” Tennis Australia said in a statement.

On January 16, at the Australian Open, fans demonstrated the Russian flag during the match between Ukrainian tennis player Ekaterina Byndl and Russian Kamilla Rakhimova.

After the incident, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, published a photo on Twitter showing a Russian flag hanging from the court where Ekaterina Bayndl played her first-round match.

“I strongly condemn the public demonstration of the Russian flag during today’s game of Ukrainian tennis player Ekaterina Byndl at the Australian Open. I call on Tennis Australia to implement their ‘neutral flag’ policy immediately,” he wrote on Twitter.

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

The second “racket” of Ukraine, Marta Kostyuk, passed the first round of the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne.

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