SUMMARY
- With the Australian Open around the corner, CEO Craig Tiley gave an important update about carrying Israel-Palestine flags.
- Security measures have been increased at the tournament this year.
The new tennis season has commenced, which means that the Australian Open is just around the corner. As players and fans gear up for the first Grand Slam of the year, the CEO of the event, Craig Tiley, gave crucial updates.
Since it is a marquee event, safety measures will be increased, and some necessary steps will have to be taken. One such step is that fans are now banned from carrying the Palestinian and Israeli flags this year. Under the rules of the tournament, fans can only carry the flags of the countries the players represent. Moreover, Craig also emphasized that Russian and Belarussian flags are still banned from the tournament.
“Players competing in the events, those flags are allowed to be displayed, and if a player from your nation is not competing, then those flags are not allowed to be displayed. There’s an important difference there … banning it we are not doing, you just can’t display the flag,” said Tilley (via WA Today).
There will be no players from Israel or Palestine competing at the Australian Open this year. However, a few players on tour have close ties with Israel. Aslan Karatsev is one such player, despite being Russian. This year, Karatsev will not be playing under his country’s flag either.
In November last year, Tunisian star Ons Jabeur expressed solidarity with Palestinians. A lot of tennis fans criticized her for her decision then, but she stood firm.
The Australian Open authorities follow a set of guidelines to ensure the smooth running of the event. In the past, they have taken measures to prevent disruption or politicization of the tournament.
Measures taken by the Australian Open authorities in the past
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 30 countries came together to ban the display of Russian and Belarussian flags at events. As a direct consequence, security was tightened up by the authorities at Melbourne Park last year.
Tennis Australia implemented a number of rules for players and spectators alike, and they will be reinforced again. The authorities banned the Russian Eagle banner as well as any clothing item bearing the Z symbol.
Some fans managed to break the rules in the opening week last year. Novak Djokovic’s father, Srdjan Djokovic, caused a massive controversy when he was captured posing with these fans. Tiley, however, believed that Srdjan did not know he was posing with fans carrying Russian flags.
Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka played under a white flag last year, and she will do so this year as well. Moreover, when she won the title last year, she did not have her country engraved on the trophy.
The Australian Open is the marquee event for January and the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere. The tournament will commence on January 14 this year.