Daniil Medvedev has removed the Russian flag from his Instagram profile, social media users have pointed out, after Russian and Belarusian tennis stars were sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Medvedev’s move was resumed after dropping the Russian tricolor from his Instagram bio.
The flag had previously been seen next to his description as a “professional tennis player”, but no longer appears on the account which is followed by just over 950,000 people.
The stars Twitter account still had Russian white, blue and red on Friday afternoon.
New world No. 1 tennis player Daniil Medvedev of Russia – the first player other than Djokovic, Federer, Nadal or Murray to reach No. 1 since February 2004 – has removed the Russian flag from his Instagram profile. pic.twitter.com/rhHtCk0aYJ
– Kimberly Givant (@KimberlyGivant) 3 mars 2022
–
Medvedev, 26, recently ascended to the world No. 1 spot, becoming the first new name in 18 years to earn the accolade outside of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
But like his fellow tennis stars, Medvedev will now be forced to compete without his country’s name and flag after the ITF sanctioned Russia and Belarus earlier this week in light of the conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian and Belarusian tennis federations have been suspended ” until further notice “while teams from both nations will be unable to participate in this year’s Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup – where the Russian Tennis Federation are defending champions in both events.
ITF suspends Russia and Belarus from ITF membership and international team competitionFull statement ⬇️
– FIT (@ITFTennis) 1 mars 2022
–
Asked about the disappearance of the Russian flag, Medvedev’s agents would have said they were “don’t want to comment” on this point.
Russian Tennis Federation chief Shamil Tarpishchev meanwhile said it was probably a necessary step.
“I haven’t spoken to Daniil yet. But now there are such sanctions, the IOC prohibits the use of our Russian flag. Even on social media. It’s a necessary step.” Tarpishchev told Spot-Express.
Fellow Russian top 10 star Andrey Rublev does not have his country’s flag in his Instagram biography, but as of Friday afternoon, world number 22 Aslan Karatsev and world number 25 Karen Khachanov were still displaying the Russian tricolor.
On the official ATP and WTA websites, all flags have been removed from Russian male and female players.
Earlier this week, Medvedev posted a message on social media in which he called for “peace between countries”.
“I want to speak on behalf of all the children in the world. They all have dreams, their life is just beginning, so many great experiences to come: first friends, first great emotions.” writes the star.
“Everything they feel and see is for the first time in their lives. This is why I want to ask for peace in the world, peace between countries.
“Children are born with an inner trust in the world, they believe so much in everything: in people, in love, in safety and justice, in their chances in life. Let’s get together and show them it’s true, because every child shouldn’t stop dreaming.
Medvedev officially usurped Novak Djokovic atop the ATP rankings after the Serb’s remarkable 361-week reign ended when he suffered a shock loss to Jiri Vesely in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Medvedev has reached the pinnacle of tennis despite failing to avenge his Australian Open final loss to Rafael Nadal in Mexico last week, losing to the Spaniard in the semi-finals. Acapulco tournament final.
READ MORE:
Medvedev officially ousts Djokovic as tennis king
–
–
Not all news on the site expresses the views of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
