Ahead of the U.S. Open, tennis players from Russia and Belarus were mistakenly listed with their national flags in the tournament’s results system, prompting a correction by organizers who cited a staff error.
Due to the Russian war against Ukraine, tennis professionals from Russia and Belarus are only allowed to participate in official tournaments with a neutral status.
However, just before the start of the U.S. Open in New York on Monday, tennis players from Russia and Belarus, including Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev, were mistakenly listed with their respective national flags in the U.S. Open results system.
The organizers rectified the error of listing 17 players from Russia and three players from Belarus with their flags upon notification.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Tennis Association said that the error was due to an employee selecting the wrong file.
He said that the flags were not visible on the public tournament website, as the results system is only accessible to professional organizations and the media.
