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Yulia Putintseva expressed grave concern about her safety Monday during her first-round loss at Wimbledon, where she asked an umpire to remove a spectator whom she considered “crazy” and “dangerous.”
When facing American Amanda Anisimova on court 15, the current world No. 33 informed the umpire of her uneasiness about the fan during a change of ends in the first set while down, 3-0.
“Can you take him out? I’m not going to continue playing until he leaves,” Putintseva, 30, said on the BBC broadcast, according to CNN. “These people are dangerous, they’re crazy.”
Putintseva, who appeared visibly upset on the broadcast, was then asked to identify the spectator in question, whom she conveyed was an individual wearing green.
“Maybe he has a knife and he will attack after, I don’t know,” she said.
Putintseva fell to Anisimova, 6-0, 6-0, and did not speak with the press afterward, per CNN.
A person in attendance at the match relayed to The Athletic that the fan had been discussing the war in Ukraine while speaking in Russian.
Putintseva, who is a native of Moscow, has represented Kazakhstan since 2012.
The All England Club said “the matter was dealt with” in a statement.
The incident involving Putintseva comes nearly five months after 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu was left in tears at a match in Dubai after a spectator appeared to show “fixated behavior” toward her.
Leading up to this year’s Grand Slam tournament at the All England Club, the accused stalker was prevented from purchasing Wimbledon tickets.
Raducanu defeated Mingge Xu in the first round Monday, 6-3, 6-3.
She faces Markéta Vondroušová in the second round Wednesday, while Anisimova will take on Renata Zarazúa.
Wimbledon runs through Sunday, July 13.
English (US)