"Awful violent reaction, very poor"; "Always a hot head" - Fans slam Thiago Seyboth Wild for Davis Cup beef with Arthur Fils

Thiago Seyboth Wild and Arthur Fils produced a moment of controversy in the first round of the ongoing 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers. It involved the Brazilian showing quite a bit of aggression during and after a tense post-match handshake with the Frenchman. Seyboth Wild's behavior led to several tennis fans criticizing him in the aftermath of the heated exchange.

On Saturday, February 1, France registered a 2-0 victory over Brazil in the first round of the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers. The win came courtesy of two straight-set wins for Frenchmen Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils. Humbert's 7-5, 6-3 victory against Joao Fonseca went without controversy, but the same can't be said for what unfolded in Fils' 6-1, 6-4 win over Seyboth Wild.

As Arthur Fils and Thiago Seyboth Wild approached the net for the customary post-match handshake, the Brazilian tightened his grip on the Frenchman's hand and pulled him. Seyboth Wild kept giving Fils an earful and the altercation kept going even after the handshake ended. France and Brazil's respective coaching staff needed to intervene to calm things down.

Many fans on X (formerly Twitter) voiced their disapproval of Seyboth Wild's behavior.

"Blame it on the ref, Fils has nothing to do with it. Once decision is made, the ref can’t go back to it anyway, awful violent reaction from S Wild. Very poor," one wrote.

"Always a hot head," another added.

"Isn’t this the same Wild that has domestic violence allegations out there about him?" questioned one.

"I mean, Arthur has every right to fight him considering the guy is an abuser and ultra proud of his nazi heritage," another chimed in.

Here are some more reactions from fans on the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifiers controversy featuring Thiago Seyboth Wild and Arthur Fils.

"If someone walked up on me like that? Honestly Fils is a saint for not flipping out," a fan opined.

"Wild is a woman beater and thinks he can bring the same crap onto the court against the men. Look how aggressively he pulled Fils towards him at the net. Wild! Glad Fils stood his ground," another commented.

"Typical from Wild," yet another fan weighed in.

The post-match tensions between the pair stemmed from a contentious point in the second and decisive set. At the time, Fils had a break point on Seyboth Wild's serve with the second-set score at 4-4. During a rally, he came to the net and hit a backhand that landed out.

The chair umpire though, called 'touch', believing that the ball had touched the Brazilian's racket before landing out. As a result, the point was controversially awarded to Fils. Seyboth Wild was livid with the decision, but the Frenchman maintained that it was the chair umpire's decision.

Seyboth Wild's Nazi roots were revealed via leaked WhatsApp messages the Brazilian shared with ex-girlfriend Lima.

"My great grandfather was Adolf Hitler's predecessor" - Thiago Seyboth Wild

Thiago Seyboth Wild (Source: Getty)

In 2023, Brazilian newspaper O Globo made some of Thiago Seyboth Wild's private WhatsApp messages with ex-girlfriend Thayane Lima public. One of the conversations between the pair saw Seyboth Wild talking about his Na*i roots.

"My family on my mother’s side is Nazi. Literally. My great-grandfather, my mother’s father’s father’s father… was Hitler’s predecessor…. He was the one who brought him over from Austria and taught Hitler the life," Seyboth Wild told Lima via WhatsApp messages.

Unsurprisingly, the Brazilian's messages prompted fierce backlash from fans.

On the tennis front, Seyboth Wild is currently ranked World No. 76 on the ATP Tour rankings. He achieved his career-high ranking of No. 58 in May last year.