Azerbaijan Seeks Punishment for Karen Khachanov

The Azerbaijan Tennis Federation has sent a letter to the International Tennis Federation regarding Karen Khachanov, a tennis player representing Russia of Armenian descent, who has spoken in support of Artsakh, according to Azerbaijani media.

“In the Australian Open Grand Slam tournament, Armenian descent representative Karen Khachanov, who reached the round of 16 in men's singles on January 20, drew attention with an ‘unpleasant act.’ After defeating American opponent Frances Tiafoe with a score of 3-1, Khachanov wrote on the camera lens, ‘Keep believing until the end, Artsakh, stay strong,’” the statement reads.

“The Azerbaijan Tennis Federation condemns this incident and requests that the tennis player (Khachanov) be punished to prevent a recurrence of such a situation, and to take stricter measures to avert similar incidents in the future,” the statement concludes.