During her opening-round defeat at Wimbledon on Tuesday, Yulia Putintseva appeared noticeably disturbed. She requested that a spectator be removed from the premises midway through the first set of her match against American Amanda Anisimova. Putintseva, who is ranked 33rd globally,
reportedly told the chair umpire on the BBC broadcast, as reported by CNN: “Can you remove him? I won’t continue playing until he’s gone. These individuals pose a threat; they’re unstable.”
With Putinteseva trailing 0-3 in the first set of what would become a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Anisimova, the umpire sought clarification. Putinteseva pointed towards a spectator dressed in green before the umpire conferred with two Wimbledon security personnel.
Putintseva voiced her concerns, stating, “Perhaps he’s armed and intends to attack afterwards; I can’t be certain.”
In a statement provided to TNT Sports during the match, tournament officials stated, “Following a concern raised about a spectator’s conduct during the match on court 15, the chair umpire notified security, and the matter was addressed.”
This increased vigilance follows Emma Raducanu’s prior complaints regarding a man pursuing her across multiple tournaments earlier in the year.
Raducanu expressed gratitude towards Wimbledon organizers for preventing the individual from entering this month’s tournament in London. Security protocols were implemented to prevent him from acquiring tickets.
“I noticed him during the match’s opening game, and I was unsure how I would complete it,” Raducanu recounted in March, after a spectator became “fixated” during the Dubai Tennis Championships. “My vision blurred due to tears, and I struggled to breathe. I felt the need to pause and compose myself.”
Putinteseva’s double-bagel defeat to Anisimova on Tuesday represented a disappointing showing for the 30-year-old Russian. She managed only one winner throughout the match, committed 14 unforced errors, and secured a total of 21 points across the two sets.
This marked the second instance in Putinteseva’s career where she suffered a 6-0, 6-0 defeat, the first being against Alize Cornet at the WTA New Haven tournament in 2017.
