"Never liked Sofia Kenin more" "Italian Open putting players at risk, what’s new?" - Fans back American's expletive-laden outburst at umpire in 1R win

Sofia Kenin's first-round win at the ongoing Italian Open was marred by controversial scenes as the American launched a foul-mouthed rant at the chair umpire during the match. The 2020 Australian Open champion also had a go at the crowd later on.

Kenin started her 2024 Italian Open campaign against Lucia Bronzetti. The crowd, unsurprisingly, stood firmly behind the Italian. However, despite the resounding support from the stands, Bronzetti could not make a dent as Kenin's near-flawless display yielded a 6-3, 6-2 win for her.

During the first set, it started raining, but according to the chair umpire, the conditions were not bad enough for play to be stopped. This decision irked Kenin, who was captured by the cameras telling the chair umpire:

"F**king dumba**es people, literally."

A ring of loud boos from the crowd followed, which annoyed Kenin further. Play was eventually halted a couple of points after the altercation as playing conditions worsened. Later, after she won a fiercely-contested point against Bronzetti, the American yelled at the crowd:

"F**k you!"

Despite Kenin's outburst, the majority of tennis fans on social media backed the American. One set of fans voiced its support for Kenin and at the same time, criticized the WTA 1000 event for jeopardizing players' fitness.

"Italian Open putting players at risk. What’s new?" asked one fan by tagging the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of the tournament.

"She was extremely right for this by the way," wrote another fan.

"I really needed Ms Kenin to do this:" another fan commented, followed by a GIF of Karolina Pliskova smashing her racquet against the umpire's chair following her second-round loss to Maria Sakkari at the 2018 Italian Open.

Another set of fans lauded Kenin for standing up for herself in the face of the officials and the booing Italian Open crowd.

"What a queen," wrote one fan.

"Never liked Kenin more," another fan commented.

"Sonya is MOTHER," another fan chimed in.

"Every year someone drags that crowd," another fan wrote.

Sofia Kenin set for Ons Jabeur showdown in the second round of the Italian Open

Ons Jabeur in action at the 2024 Madrid Open

Kenin's win over Bronzetti helped her set up a clash against No. 8 seed Ons Jabeur in the second round. Owing to her seeded status, Jabeur received a first-round bye, and the match against Kenin will be the Tunisian's first at this year's Italian Open.

The two will lock horns for the sixth time on the WTA Tour, with Kenin leading 4-1 in the head-to-head. Their last encounter came in the third round of the 2021 Miami Open, with Jabeur winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.