Yulia Putintseva was visibly shaken during Tuesday’s first-round loss at Wimbledon after requesting a fan’s removal midway through the first set against American Amanda Anisimova. The world’s 33rd-ranked player, Putintseva
“Can you take him out? I’m not going to continue playing until he leaves,” Putinteseva told the chair umpire on the BBC broadcast, according to CNN. “These people are dangerous, they’re crazy.”
The umpire asked for clarity with Putinteseva trailing 0-3 in the first set of her 6-0, 6-0 setback to Anisimova. Putinteseva gestured toward a spectator wearing green before the umpire spoke with two members of Wimbledon’s security staff.
“Maybe he has a knife and he will attack after, I don’t know,” Putintseva said.
In a statement to TNT Sports during the match, tournament organizers said, “following a complaint about the behavior of a spectator at the match on court 15, the chair umpire informed security and the matter was dealt with.”
This security measure comes after Emma Raducanu complained about a man stalking her for several tournaments earlier this year.
Raducanu praised Wimbledon organizers for not allowing the man entry into this month’s tournament in London. Security measures blocked him from the ability to purchase tickets.
“I saw him in the first game of the match and I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to finish,'” Raducanu said in March after a spectator became “fixated” during the Dubai Tennis Championships. “I literally couldn’t see the ball through tears. I could barely breathe. I was like, ‘I need to just take a breather.'”
Putinteseva’s double-bagel in Tuesday’s loss to Anisimova was a disappointing performance for the 30-year-old Russian. She had just one winner in the match, made 14 unforced errors and won 21 points over two sets.
Putinteseva lost 6-0, 6-0 for the second time her career, the first coming against Alize Cornet at the WTA New Haven tournament in 2017.
Read the full article here