Russian flags banned at Australian Open tennis after Ukraine complaint

FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 16, 2023 General view of the first round match between Germany's Jule Niemeier and Poland's Iga Swiatek REUTERS/Carl Recine

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Russian and Belarusian flags have been banned from the Melbourne Park precinct during the Australian Open after a complaint from the Ukraine ambassador to the country, a move that the Russian embassy described as "regrettable".

Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine's ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, posted a picture showing a Russian flag hanging from a bush beside the court where his compatriot Kateryna Baindl was playing her first-round match on Monday.