FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. — Karolína Muchová, the Czech world No. 13, had to wipe away tears and briefly halt her second-round U.S. Open match against Sorana Cîrstea on Thursday. She later said that she had spotted an ex-boyfriend in the crowd, who she said has a history of showing up “at places where he shouldn’t be.”
Muchová was serving down 4-1 in the first set when she looked visibly upset, and approached the side of the court to gesture toward the crowd. She wiped tears away from her face as she went to serve and apologized for the delay. After holding from 30-30, she walked to the back of the court and wiped her face with a towel.
Muchová, a U.S. Open semifinalist in both of the last two years, ended up winning the match to reach the third round, and in a post-match news conference explained in her native Czech what had happened. In a translation verified by The Athletic, she said:
“Well… it wasn’t tennis-related,” she said. “So l don’t really like talking about it. But opposite my bench, my ex-boyfriend sat down. He sometimes shows up at places where he shouldn’t be. That startled me a bit. I told him to leave, he didn’t, but later he did go. It was hard to focus in that moment.”
Muchová had not mentioned the man to the WTA or the United States Tennis Association (USTA) ahead of the tournament, and has not done so since the incident. Players can request that certain individuals be blacklisted from receiving tickets or being given credentials.
After beating fellow Czech Linda Nosková Saturday, the No. 11 seed said in a news conference, “Yeah, I’m alright. I didn’t make any report and everything is good.”
Asked if she trusted that there wouldn’t be a similar incident again, Muchová said, “I mean, who knows, right? I don’t know, so…”
As for whether she felt safe going on court, she added: “Yeah, yeah, I feel okay.”
Ahead of the U.S. Open, a USTA spokesperson told The Athletic via email that “Player safety is a critical element of our planning and execution for the U.S. Open. Our comprehensive security plan includes protocols and procedures for effective risk mitigation and issue management. We work closely with the ATP, WTA, ITF, ITIA and the other Grand Slam events to stay informed of all relevant situations and concerns.
“The U.S. Open is in constant communication with local and federal law enforcement, who also maintain a presence at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. We utilize both physical and technological means throughout the event to monitor and maintain security, including online threats to players.”
At Wimbledon this year, a man who had displayed fixated behaviour toward Emma Raducanu at the Dubai Tennis Championships, and was given a restraining order by Dubai authorities, was removed from the list of applicants for tickets in the public ballot.
It had been Muchová on the other side of the net when Raducanu had spotted him, also mid-match. Raducanu later said that she “couldn’t see the ball through tears” and could “barely breathe.”
Athletes in all sports deal with fixated individuals, but women’s tennis has been and continues to be the epicenter of the issue. People involved in the sport and stalking experts say that tennis has particular conditions and characteristics that make its players targets, regardless of the era.
“I think it’s to do with the individuality of the sport, and then a combination of precociousness, attractiveness and visibility,” said a former Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity to maintain relationships in the sport. “You put all those things together and women’s tennis is a perfect storm for fixated individuals.”
Muchová will face No. 27 seed Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round on Monday.
(Photo: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images)
Source link
