Tournament officers instructed Reuters on Tuesday that the form of Ukraine’s flag {that a} fan had wrapped round it throughout a match on the Cincinnati Open on Monday was the rationale he was requested to take away it from the sector.
According to experiences, throughout a qualifying match between Russian gamers Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova on Sunday, one of many gamers reportedly complained to WTA chair umpire Morgan Lara concerning the fan.
Videos of the incident posted on-line confirmed Lara coming down from her chair to speak to the fan, who finally left the court docket. He was reportedly contacted on the sector by the event’s head of safety, who instructed him the flag was above regulation dimension.
A couple of hours later a video of the incident surfaced on social media. @trashytennispic.twitter.com/bYlFL38L9X
— Ben Rothenberg (@benrothenberg) 15 August 2022
“In accordance with Western and Southern Open’s bag policy, as stated on the tournament’s website, flags or banners larger than 18 x 18 are prohibited,” a event spokesperson mentioned in an e-mail.
“Therefore, the custodians have been requested to take away the flag from the sector and after doing so have been allowed to proceed within the event.
“Any inquiries regarding the chair umpire should be directed to the WTA Tour.”
The WTA Tour didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, calling it a “special military operation”, geared toward safeguarding its defenses towards NATO enlargement. Ukraine and the West accused Moscow of waging a conflict of unprovoked imperialist-style aggression.
In response, Wimbledon this yr banned Russian and Belarusian tennis gamers from the grass court docket main.
The US Open, which begins August 29, will permit gamers from these international locations to compete and can host a tournament-long marketing campaign to boost consciousness and humanitarian assist for Ukraine, with the purpose of elevating $2 million in reduction. will occur, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) mentioned final week.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
