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During a qualifying match between Russian players Anna
Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova on Sunday, one of the players
reportedly complained to the WTA chair umpire Morgane Lara about
the fan, according to reports.
Video of the incident posted online showed Lara come down from
her chair to speak to the fan, who ultimately left the court.
She reportedly was approached on the grounds by the tournament's
head of security, who told her the flag was above regulation
size.
"Per the Western & Southern Open's bag policy, as stated on the
tournament's website, flags or banners larger than 18 x 18 are
prohibited," a spokesperson for the tournament said in an email.
"Therefore, the patron was asked to remove the flag from the
grounds and after doing so was allowed to remain at the
tournament.
"Any inquiries about the chair umpire should be directed to the
WTA Tour."
The WTA Tour did not respond to a request for comment.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a "special
military operation" aimed at pre-emptively safeguarding its
security against NATO expansion. Ukraine and the West accuse
Moscow of waging an unprovoked imperial-style war of aggression.
In response, Wimbledon banned Russian and Belarussian tennis
players from the grass court major this year.
The U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 29, will allow players from
those countries to compete and will host a tournament-long
campaign to raise awareness and humanitarian aid for Ukraine
with a goal of raising $2 million in relief, the United States
Tennis Association (USTA) said last week.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken
Ferris)
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