After one of the Russian players complained, the umpire approached the woman and said it was “not nice” to have the flag in the stands, whereupon the woman shot back that it was “not nice to invade a country” either. Things got heated, security got called in and escorted her to her car.
Apparently, the Russian players did not appreciate her silent protest. Tournament officials later released a statement saying that the woman's flag was larger than the maximum allowed for a spectator. Yeah, sure.
Newsclip by Local 12.
Source: ExpressUK
A Cincinnati Open fan with a Ukrainian flag was forced to leave a match when a Russian tennis player complained. The spectator in question was later forced to put the flag in her car or be removed from the grounds following “aggressive” encounters with security officials, as she received threats that the police would be called.
It has emerged that a Russian tennis star got a spectator removed from a qualifying match at the Western & Southern Open because they were draped in a Ukrainian flag. The fan in question - Lola - was confronted by a WTA umpire and Cincinnati tournament security on two separate occasions.
In the first set of the all-Russian clash between Anna Kalinskaya and Anastasia Potapova on Court 8, one of the players made a complaint about Lola to the chair umpire. Lola was also wearing a Ukrainian floral wreath crown known as a vinok and was watching the match silently, making no disruption.
Following the complaint, WTA umpire Morgane Lara approached Lola and said it was “not nice” to have the flag in the stands, as the fan hit back that it was “not nice to invade a country”. And things escalated when one of the tournament’s security marshals who was standing on the court became “aggressive” and threatened to call the police if she did not leave the stands
Eventually, security escorted her to her car and made sure that she left the "offensive" flag in her automobile before being allowed to re-enter the grounds.
Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg recorded the incident in a series of tweets.
