The size of the Ukrainian flag, which a fan draped around her during a game at the Cincinnati Open on Monday, was the reason she was asked to remove it from the grounds, tournament officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
Reportedly, during a qualifying match between Russian players Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova on Sunday, one of the players complained to WTA referee Morgane Lara about the fan.
Video of the incident posted online showed Lara getting down from her chair to speak to the fan, who eventually left the court. She was reportedly approached at the site by the tournament’s security chief, who told her the flag was oversized.
“Per the Western & Southern Open’s bag policy, as stated on the tournament’s website, flags or banners larger than 18×18 are prohibited,” a tournament spokesman said in an email.
“Therefore, the patron was asked to remove the flag from the site and was then allowed to stay at the tournament.
“All chair umpire inquiries should be directed to the WTA Tour.”
The WTA Tour did not respond to a request for comment.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, calling it a “military special operation” aimed at protecting its security from NATO expansion. Ukraine and the West accuse Moscow of waging an unprovoked imperial war of aggression.
In response, Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarusian tennis players from the grass-court major that year.
The US Open, beginning August 29, will allow players from these countries to compete and host a tournament-long campaign to raise awareness and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, with a goal of raising US$2 million Raising dollars in support of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said last week.