‘I want her gone’: Stefanos Tsitsipas confronts fan over animal noise
Stefanos Tsitsipas ordered an umpire to eject a female fan after claiming he could hear her making a bizarre animal noise.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas won’t stand for Bee S.
The world No. 4 urged an umpire to toss a fan from the Western & Southern Open on Thursday for apparently making a buzzing sound when he attempted to serve against American Ben Shelton.
“There’s a person imitating a bee behind me,” the Greek athlete told the umpire at the Ohio tournament, according to video from Tennis TV.
“It’s a buzz right before I serve.”
The New York Post reports Tsitsipas, 25, then walked over to the stands and inquired about the source of the sound, with one spectator pointing the finger toward a fan in the first row.
He then returned to the umpire, who asked Tsitsipas if he knew who was making the noise.
“It has never happened in my career,” Tsitsipas said.
“I know they’re supporting the [other player].”
When Shelton, 20, asked, “What’s happened? Are they speaking to you?” Tsitsipas replied, “No, they’re imitating a bee, they’re buzzing.”
Tsitsipas alleged it was a “lady over there,” making it clear to the umpire he wanted her gone.
“I want her out. She needs to go … I’m about to serve and all I hear …,” Tsitsipas told the umpire, who instructed him to return if the fan buzzed again.
A woman in the stands could be seen moments later apologising to Tsitsipas, with the two briefly conversing.
Tsitsipas, who reached the Australian Open final in January before losing to Novak Djokovic, defeated Shelton 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2).
However, his luck ran out on Friday when he was knocked out of the tournament by Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.
— This story originally appeared on nypost.com and has been republished with permission
Originally published as ‘I want her gone’: Stefanos Tsitsipas confronts fan over animal noise
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