Let’s get the big, sad truth out of the way. Sabalenka didn’t choose to be flag-less. Her country, Belarus, got itself in a whole lot of trouble. Because of the war in Ukraine, the powers-that-be in tennis (like the Wimbledon folks and the ATP/WTA) decided to ban flags.
It’s a punishment. A collective time-out for Belarusian and Russian athletes. They can play, but they can’t represent their nation. Think of it as playing tennis under a blanket of neutrality. Weird, right?
But Wait, Other Players Have Flags?
That’s the part that makes you spit out your coffee. Yes, some players do. Take Daniil Medvedev or Andrey Rublev. They’re Russian. They also play without a flag most of the time. But then you’ll see a tiny, unofficial flag next to their name sometimes? It’s confusing.
The rule is inconsistent. It feels like tennis officials are playing a game of “flag or no flag” darts. For Sabalenka, it’s almost always a big, blank gray space. She’s a number-one player who looks like she’s from Nation: Unknown.
