"Absolute jail...throw them out"- Tennis fans aghast as Jordan Thompson encounters hecklers at Cincinnati Open days after Denis Shapovalov's default

Tennis fans were enraged as Jordan Thomspon’s Cincinnati Open 2024 match was disrupted by a heckler. Given Denis Shapovalov’s recent default due to a similar incident, many fans shared their worries about the increasing issues with players’ safety.

Jordan Thompson is enjoying the best season of his career yet. The Aussie won his maiden ATP title at the ATP 250 in Los Cabos earlier this year. He was also the runner-up at the Atlanta Open and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 30 last week.

At the ongoing Cincinnati Open, he eked out a comeback victory against Frenchman Ugo Humbert 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4). Thompson, however, had a disturbing experience on the court as his revival seemed to bother a couple of spectators, who, according to a fellow attendee, bet against the Aussie.

The attendee gave a full account of the controversy on X, noting that chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani and security personnel had to intervene to prevent the situation from boiling over.

Despite Thompson's repeated complaints, though, the Cincinnati Open hecklers faced no harsh consequences, according to the individual on X. One of those spectators remained seated throughout the match, only to make a “quick and quiet exit” after Jordan Thompson’s victory.

Tennis fans were furious with how the situation unfolded, with many condemning the Cincinnati Open officials and the governing bodies’ security lapse.

"Heckling a player because you've got a bet on their opponent, absolute f*cking jail. match supervisor needs to wake the f*ck up and throw them out asap," one fan said.

"This really needs to stop and both the ATP and WTA need to do something about it because this could escalate to something more serious than just nasty comments on players' IG posts," another fan wrote.

"This thread is terrifying actually," yet another individual said.

It should be noted that just a couple of weeks ago, Denis Shapovalov was disqualified from his Citi Open match against Ben Shelton after confronting a heckler. The Canadian was also slapped with a hefty fine, but the individual in question faced no consequences.

"So it's really a practice lately at tournaments to give right to gamblers / bullies to throw their hatred freely towards the players in the middle of the game and no sanction to be applied. But ofc one like Denis Shapovalov had to be DF to...set an example? Funny world we live in," one fan said.

"The dangerous thing about wide spread sports betting is there are lots of sports where fans in attendance can pretty easily influence the outcome - especially tennis. You can buy a $50-$100 ticket and sit front row at a tennis match and heckle the other side of your bet," another fan said.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

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Denis Shapovalov on Jordan Thompson's Cincinnati Open 2024 controversy: "How long are we going to keep allowing these things?"

Denis Shapovalov pictured at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships during his match against Ben Shelton - Source: Getty

Denis Shapovalov was quick to voice his concerns about the increasing number of abusive spectators after Jordan Thompson’s confrontation with hecklers at the Cincinnati Open.

The Canadian lambasted the ATP tour's negligence.

"So @atptour how long are we going to keep allowing these things to go on?" Shapovalov wrote on X.

Following his default at the Citi Open, the 25-year-old had issued a statement, requesting the governing bodies to provide adequate safeguards to players.

"We all work extremely hard - our tennis careers are our lives and should not be derailed by unnecessary, subjective ruling. I also hope the ATP can put better rules in place for protecting players from abusive fans," he said at the time.