Canberra, 17/1: Tennis Australia on Tuesday banned Russian and Belarusian flags at the Australian Open after Ukraine’s ambassador demanded action when one was sighted among the crowd.
The red, white and blue stripes of Russia were seen Monday during a first-round clash between Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl and Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova on day one.
“Flags from Russia and Belarus are banned onsite at the Australian Open,” Tennis Australia said 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