An outrageous incident marked the match of the first round of the 

Australian Open

 between the Ukrainian Kateryna Byndl and the Russian Kamilla Rakhimova.

A group of fans in the stands supported the tennis player of the aggressor country with the flag of the Russian Federation and the image of the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin on the T-shirt.

Photo: Associated Press

Previously, the organizers of the first "Grand Slam" tournament of the 2023 season

allowed players from Russia and Belarus to compete

, but only in neutral status: without flags, anthems and other national symbols.

The Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia, Vasyl Miroshnychenko, has already reacted to the shocking incident on Twitter and demanded an explanation from the organizers of the tournament.

"I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during today's game of Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Byndl at the Australian Open. I call on Tennis Australia to immediately implement its 'neutral flag' policy," Miroshnychenko wrote.

I strongly condemn the public display of the Russian flag during the game of the Ukrainian tennis player Kateryna Baindl at the Australian Open today.

I call on Tennis Australia to immediately enforce its “neutral flag” policy.

@TennisAustralia @AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/zw8pLN4FIF

— Vasyl Myroshnychenko (@AmbVasyl) January 16, 2023

The match itself ended with the victory of the Ukrainian.

Kateryna won over the Russian in three sets – 5:7, 7:6, 1:6.

Let's add that earlier, despite the prohibition of the symbols of the Russian Federation and Belarus at international tournaments, some fans still managed to bring the flags of the aggressor countries to the stands.

In particular, this happened at the competition in Belgrade.

In addition, in August of last year, a scandal involving the Ukrainian flag occurred at a tournament in Cincinnati, USA.

After the complaint of the Russian tennis players, the cheerleader with the blue and yellow flag 

was forced to leave the stands

.

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