Russians Anna Kalinskaya, Anastasia Potapova can’t deal with Tennis Fan’s Ukrainian Flag
A woman with a Ukrainian flag draped around her shoulders was kicked out of a match between two Russian players during qualifying for the Cincinnati Masters over the weekend.
Anna Kalinskaya defeated Anastasia Potapova 7-5, 6-1 in the clash but the controversy erupted when one of the players complained about a woman in the crowd who had a flag and a Ukrainian floral wreath crown known as a vinok, and she was asked to leave the venue.
It comes as the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears its six-month anniversary.
“This is not Russia,”
she told Local 12 News. “This is United States of America.”
While Russian and Belarusian players were banned from playing certain tournaments, most notably Wimbledon, or representing the Russian flag, several Ukrainian players were forced to flee their homes or choose to stay and fight.
The woman,
who tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg identified as a local resident named Lola, was silently watching the match when the incident happened.
“You’re not being nice. You need to put the flag away,’” she told Local 12. “The message I got was that it is agitating Russian players. I said, ‘I’m not putting it away.’ They kept playing for a minute or two. Then, they stopped the game again, and then the security guard came up to me and said, ‘Ma’am, I’m going to call the cops if you won’t leave.”
Anna Kalinskaya, Anastasia Potapova have Ukrainian fan booted