Marta Kostyuk was the first to stage it against the Russian Aryna Sabalenka. Anhelina Kalinina already did it in her confrontation in the Master 1000 of Rome.
Lesia Tsurenko criticized the IOC and the WTA for the lukewarmness regarding the position to be adopted with Russian athletes. But the gestures of Ukrainian tennis players are not always combative, but also supportive of their country.. The ATP and WTA did not ban Russian tennis players from tournaments as long as they did so without a flag.