Ukrainian fans called security and police to court 14 but they took no action. However on Tuesday morning,Tennis Australia said it had now banned Russian and Belarusian flags from Melbourne Park,effective immediately.
“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,” Tennis Australia said. “We will continue to work with the players and our fans to ensure the best possible environment to enjoy the tennis.”
For nearly a year,the tennis world has grappled with how to deal with Russian players in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In Britain,Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarusian players last year,prompting the tour to strip the tournament of its ranking points.
Tennis Australia has allowed the athletes to compete as independent players but not to represent their country. Instead of a Russian flag,a white or neutral flag appears next to the players’ names.
Ukrainian-Australian tennis fan Maria Tumarkin attended the Russia-Ukraine match on Monday and called security to the court,claiming the Russian fans were heckling and “taunting” the Ukrainian player,Baindl.
“This is profoundly unsafe,the war is ongoing,” she told theHerald andThe Ageon Tuesday. “It’s a small court,the guys were extremely close to the players,so there was an element of what I felt was intimidation.”