Pro-Russian protesters storm the Australian Open carrying Putin and ‘Z’ signs

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Djokovic always draws large crowds for his matches at the event – which he’s won nine times – and many of them arrive carrying or wearing the Serbian flag in some form.

On this occasion, a small minority took the opportunity to promote the Russian cause. Traditionally, the ties between Serbia and Russia have been strong due to their shared Slavic heritage and Eastern Orthodox religion.

The Australian Open is gearing towards a closing weekend that could confirm why Wimbledon chose to ban the Russians and Belarusians last summer.

Among the final four women are two from Belarus, Victoria Azarenka and Arina Sabalenka, as well as Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who was born in Moscow but plays under the flag of Kazakhstan.

The final four men are Russia’s Karen Khachanov, who has already become embroiled in a political row during this tournament after he voiced support for a small Armenian community protesting its independence from Azerbaijan.

Billie Jean King calls for an end to the Russia and Belarus bans at Wimbledon

By Molly McElwee

The incident comes after Billie Jean called on King Wimbledon to overturn the ban it imposed on Russian and Belarusian players at the tournament this July.

Last year, Wimbledon organizers went tennis extremes when they chose to remove players from Russia and Belarus, in response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

This sparked a huge row within the sport, and the WTA and ATP stripped the ranking points from Wimbledon as well as imposing fines as punishment.

Wimbledon is expected to officially announce its policy shift in the next few weeks, and King – one of the founders of the women’s tour – has urged them to do so.

“Just keep it the same way everyone else does,” she told reporters in Melbourne on Wednesday. “Life is too short. Just make them play and get their money’s worth. It’s the ranking points for sure. They should get it.”

“Rybakina, they put her 25th, but because she won Wimbledon, she’s not [seeded higher]. We are a platform for discussions on this topic. I think it’s important. The WTA started for this, so we will all have one vote as well to help protect the players.”

At the Australian Open, Azarenka and Sabalenka could face off against Belarus on Saturday, if they win their respective semi-finals. The irony is that neither of them were allowed to compete at Wimbledon last season, due to a ban on Belarusian athletes as a result of their country’s alliance with Putin.

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