Why don't Aryna Sabalenka, Daniil Medvedev's flags show up at Australian Open? All you need to know about impact of Russia-Ukraine war on tennis world

Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev enjoyed great showings at this year's Australian Open. While the Belarusian already won her second-career Major title on Saturday (January 27), the Russian will be playing his sixth championship match at Grand Slam level.

Many of the two players' fans back home would be overjoyed by their results. However, the fact that both Sabalenka and Medvedev haven't been able to represent their country's flag in Melbourne this year would likely bear in their minds.

For those unaware, Russian and Belarusian players can't have their respective flags next to their names at all four of the Majors. The International Tennis Federation (ITF), the governing body of world tennis, suspended the Russian and Belarusian tennis associations from individual and team competitions across the world in 2022.

The ITF were forced to make this decision because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine the same year. Belarus, meanwhile, also got shunned by the international tennis body due to their allegiance to Russia.

The ITF even released a lengthy statement to express their solidarity with Ukraine and to condemn the actions of Russia and Belarus. According to the statement, they not only banned the Russian and Belarusian flags from both ITF and ATP-level events, but also took bac licenses to hold professional tennis tournaments in those two countries.

"The International Tennis Federation condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its facilitation by Belarus," their statement from early 2022 read. "In addition to the cancellation of all ITF events in those countries, the ITF board has today announced the immediate suspension of the Russian Tennis Federation and the Belarus Tennis Federation from ITF membership and from participation in ITF international team competition until further notice. The ITF is in close contact with the Ukraine Tennis Federation and stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine."

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A look at all the Russian and Belarusian tennis players that played at Australian Open 2024 ft. Aryna Sabalenka & Daniil Medvedev

Aryna Sabalenka poses with the Australian Open trophy

Apart from Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev, there were several Russians and the Belarusians that did well at this year's Australian Open. In men's singles, Russia's top players Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov lived up to their top billing, successfully reaching the second week in Melbourne.

In the women's singles competition, Russian players like Mirra Andreeva, Anna Kalinskaya and Anna Blinkova impressed fans with their runs. Belarus, however, staked its claim as the most successful country in the draw, as Aryna Sabalenka won her second-career Major without dropping a single set.

Here is a table listing the Russian and Belarusian players who competed in the main draw action of the 2024 Australian Open:

	Russian	Belarusian
Men	Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Roman Safiullin, Alexander Shevchenko, Pavel Kotov	—
Women	Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Anna Blinkova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Diana Schnaider, Anna Kalinskaya, Elina Avanesyan, Maria Timofeeva, Alina Korneeva, Anastasia Zakharova, Anastasia Potapova, Mirra Andreeva, Kamila Rakhimova, Yana Sizikova, Alexandra Panova,	Aryna Sabalenka, Victoria Azarenka, Liudmila Samsonova, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Iryna Shymanovich
Boys	Egor Pleshivtsev, Daniil Sarksian, Timofei Derepasko	—
Girls	Vlada Mincheva, Kristiana Sidorova, Daria Egorova	Yuliya Perapekhina