From respectful to rowdy: How tennis crowds are getting more unruly than EVER with drunk fans, booing of stars and abusive behaviour taking over the court… while one supporter even imitated a bee to distract a player!
The tennis crowd was embarrassed again on Tuesday when Alexander Zverev showed up late in the evening U.S. open The round of 16 match against Jannik Sinner was marred by a racial slur against the German No. 12 seed.
Zverev and Sinner were locked in an enthralling fourth-round draw in the early hours of the morning in New York when the former complained to the referee about a comment he heard in the seconds before a point.
“He just said the most famous Hitler line there is. It is unacceptable,” Hamburg-born Zverev told British referee James Keothavong after hearing a slur from the crowd.
After the match, Zverev told a reporter that the alleged fan had sung Hitler’s “anthem” – the banned first verse of the original German national anthem.
‘He started singing Hitler’s national anthem from that time. It was ‘Deutschland über alles’ and it was a bit too much,” said the Hamburger.
The tennis public was left embarrassed on Tuesday when Alexander Zverev’s US Open round of 16 match against Jannik Sinner was marred by a racial slur against the German No. 12 seed
The spectator was escorted out by security after barracking the German player in New York
While unacceptable comments towards stars are rare, the Zverev incident was the latest example of tennis crowds becoming more involved than ever in player issues, with increasingly rowdy behavior causing problems.
Last week Daniil Medvedev continued his feisty relationship with the US Open as he thanked supporters who saved their cheers for breaks in play, while mocking one crowd member who proved particularly vocal during his third-round victory over Sebastian Baez.
“Thank you very much to all the guys who don’t shout between the first and second serve,” he said after the match. ‘You guys are awesome.
“But I think there’s one guy, I don’t know if he has a girlfriend or a wife. But I don’t know how she’s going to sleep because he’s so excited that at night he’ll say, “VAMO! VAMO! VAMO! VAMO!” Like non-stop. I feel sorry for him.’
The exchange follows another incident involving the 27-year-old and supporters at Flushing Meadows after the No. 3 seed taunted some spectators during his win over Christopher O’Connell in the previous round.
Daniil Medvedev was furious with a group of fans at the US Open, accusing them of being ‘stupid’
A female fan (left) tried to appease the angry Russian by blowing him a kiss from her seat
The 2019 champion has had several clashes with supporters at Flushing Meadows over the years
An irritable Medvedev appeared to be angered by some fans who walked to their seats as he lined up a serve and shouted, “Can you shut up? Are you stupid or what?’
One of the female fans blew Medvedev a kiss in response when his anger led to boos at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
These clashes are becoming increasingly common and affect tennis stars from all over the world.
One of the most bizarre incidents occurred last month when a spectator had to apologize to Stefanos Tsitsipas after the Greek star confronted her about imitating a bee during his match at the Cincinnati Masters.
The world number four was preparing to serve when he heard an annoying buzzing sound near him.
He then comically tried to swat away what he thought was a bee before setting himself up to serve again.
Tsitsipas underwent his own investigation and made his complaints known to the referee, before approaching the spectator who then apologized profusely for her actions.
One of the most bizarre incidents occurred last month when a spectator had to apologize to Stefanos Tsitsipas after she imitated a bee during his match at the Cincinnati Masters.
The lady responsible for the noise was confronted by an angry and frustrated Tsitsipas
Elsewhere, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused controversy among the tennis public, with several top players from both countries, along with players from Belarus – who support Russia in the conflict – facing boos and abuse over the past year.
For example, the now customary non-handshake between Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian players regularly causes a reaction among supporters.
Ukrainian star Marta Kostyuk was booed when she refused to shake hands with Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka at the French Open, while Russia’s Daria Kasatkina was booed outside the court in Paris when she avoided her handshake with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.
Spectators at Wimbledon are known for their good behavior but could not avoid controversy this year when Belarusian Victoria Azarenka was booed by the crowd after losing to Svitolina when the aforementioned handshake did not take place.
Azarenka later hit out at those in the stands on Court One, while Svitolina called on tennis authorities to take action to deal with the increasingly ugly scenarios following matches.
The Belarusian said: ‘What should I have done? Stay and wait? She doesn’t want to shake hands with Russian, Belarusian people. I respected her decision.”
Svitolina – who was booed after failing to shake hands with Sabalenka following a quarter-final defeat at the French Open last month – added: “I feel like any player who loses, and there is no handshake, gets booed.
‘I think the tennis organizations should come up with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian/Belarusian and Ukrainian players.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused a lot of controversy in tennis, with stars from both countries often booed if they do not shake hands with the opponent (photo: Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (above) waits at the net after beating the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina)
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk was booed after failing to shake Sabalenka’s hand at the French Open
‘I don’t know if it might be unclear to people. I have said several times that I will not shake hands until Russian troops leave Ukraine and we take back our territories.
‘I have made a clear statement. I don’t know how to be clearer.’
Wimbledon has not been averse to avoiding increasingly rowdy spectators over the years with Nick Kyrgios’ infamous tirade against a supposedly ‘drunk’ individual one of the stories surrounding the 2022 Wimbledon final.
During his tense battle with Djokovic in a clash he ultimately lost in four sets, Kyrgios accused a drunken fan of interrupting him during a crucial service game.
“She’s distracting me when I’m in the Wimbledon final,” he grumbled at referee Renauld Lichtenstein.
“There’s no bigger occasion, you didn’t believe me and then she did it again. It almost cost me the game.
‘Why is she still here? She’s drunk, crazy and talking to me in the middle of a game. What is acceptable?’
When Lichtenstein said ‘nothing is acceptable’, Kyrgios replied: ‘Okay, kick her out. I know exactly which one it is: the one that looks like she’s had 700 drinks, man.”
Nick Kyrgios launched an infamous tirade during the 2022 Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic when he accused a fan who distracted him of drinking ‘about 700 drinks’
The fan was Ania Palus (above) and she initiated legal action against Kyrgios for defamation
The woman Kyrgios lashed out at was later revealed as Ania Palus, 32. She said she only had one Pimms and one glass of rosé during the match, adding that the heat got to her before she was temporarily ejected from Center Court .
Palus eventually took legal action against the Australian for defamation.
Ultimately, the usually respectful tennis crowd has become increasingly vocal over the past twelve months, engaging with players on a variety of issues.
From extremely serious topics such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, to other more trivial issues such as distraction tactics, drunken fans and abusive behaviour, there is a growing increase in crowd problems in tennis and it may be something that the sports authorities need to address sooner . then later.