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Carlos Alcaraz drew criticism for breaking his tennis racket in frustration during his second-round loss to Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open. In other news, Former Russian tennis pro Yevgeny Kafelnikov faced backlash after criticizing Iga Swiatek's complaints about the grueling WTA schedule.
Meanwhile, Chair umpire Greg Allensworth came under fire for his back-to-back controversial calls during the Cincinnati Open. Cincinnati Open slammed for its poor crowd management after heckler disrupts Jordan Thompson and Ugo Humbert’s first-round match.
Also, CoCo Vandeweghe received backlash for her remarks about Iga Swiatek's "tactics" to disrupt opponents' momentum during matches. Amanda Anisimova also silenced an online troll after an "overweight" comment.
On that note, here's a recap of the top controversies from last week:
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Carlos Alcaraz faced criticism for smashing his racket in frustration during the Cincinnati Open 2R loss
Carlos Alcaraz received flak for letting out his frustration on his racket during a 6-4, 6-7(5), 4-6 defeat to Gael Monfils in the 2024 Cincinnati Open second round. In the third set, after losing a break to fall behind 1-3, Alcaraz angrily smashed his racket multiple times on the court.
Watch the video here:
Following his emotional outburst, Alcaraz apologized on X (previously Twitter) and confessed that his conduct was "not correct." The Spanish tennis star also pledged to prevent such occurrences in the future and shared his anticipation for the forthcoming US Open.
"I apologize because my attitude yesterday was not correct and it is something that should not be done on the track. I am a human, I had a lot of nerves inside and sometimes it is very difficult to control yourself when your heart rate is so high. I will work so that it doesn't happen again. Time to think about NYC!" the 21-year-old wrote (translated from Spanish).
Former tennis pro Yevgeny Kafelnikov landed in hot water after criticizing Iga Swiatek for bemoaning an exhausting WTA schedule
Former Russian tennis star Yevgeny Kafelnikov faced criticism after taking aim at Iga Swiatek for voicing concerns about the demanding WTA tour schedule.
Following her 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Mirra Andreeva in the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals, Swiatek spoke to Sky Sports about the intense demands of the WTA Tour, expressing that, while she enjoyed the travel, the packed schedule could be exhausting.
"So what can I say I've been kind of an advocate, saying that well, we shouldn't be pushing and pushing for us to play more," Iga Swiatek said. "Obviously, it's not our decision, but for sure, I think we have too many tournaments in the season."
"It's not gonna end well as it's just it makes tennis less fun for us," she added. "Let's just say, I mean, obviously, I love playing all these places but it's pretty exhausting."
Kafelnikov responded with disdain, arguing that no one forced the Polish tennis star to compete. The former World No. 1 also criticized her for complaining, suggesting Swiatek should be paid significantly less.
"Is someone pushing you to play ??? All you fricking do is complain!! I’ll tell you what you deserve ! You deserve to get paid a lot less than you do now!! How about that??✌️😉," Kafelnikov commented.
The Russian's remarks were met with widespread disapproval from the tennis community, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice their displeasure.
Top seed Iga Swiatek recently concluded her Cincinnati Open campaign with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals.
Chair umpire Greg Allensworth received flak for his controversial calls during the Cincinnati Open
Chair umpire Greg Allensworth received criticism for making consecutive questionable calls at the Cincinnati Open. Allenworth's first controversial call came during Taylor Fritz's 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(4) loss to fellow American Brandon Nakashima in the first round.
During a rally in the second set, Nakashima’s shot appeared out, but the electronic line calling system didn’t initially register it. The chair umpire later stopped the rally and called for a replay of the point, which incited Fritz’s ire as he believed the point should have been his.
Allensworth argued that Fritz should have immediately halted play for a review, but the latter maintained that it wasn’t his duty given the presence of the electronic system.
Watch the video here:
This decision drew reactions from ATP stars like Daniil Medvedev and Denis Shapovalov, who weighed in on the controversial officiating.
"'If you would have stopped the point.' I can’t anymore," Denis Shapovalov wrote on X, expressing his surprise at the umpire’s comments.
"Ridiculous decision.. ball is out, point is over, point to Fritz. How was this not the outcome?" Medvedev wrote on Instagram.
The second controversial instance came during Jack Draper's 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third-round match. In the course of the match, Auger-Aliassime asserted that the ball had struck the frame of Draper’s racket before hitting the ground, suggesting that Draper had mishit it.
However, the umpire disagreed, and despite video replays corroborating the Canadian’s assertion, the decision did not go in his favor.
Watch the video here:
Cincinnati Open received backlash as heckler interrupts Jordan Thompson's first-round match
The Cincinnati Open faced backlash for its inadequate response to a heckler who was causing a disturbance during the first-round match between Jordan Thompson and Ugo Humbert.
During the second set, a spectator at courtside started to taunt Thompson. Initially, Thompson chose to disregard the comments but later brought it to the attention of chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani. Security stepped in and warned the heckler, but the harassment continued.
A spectator who reported the incident on X speculated that the heckler had placed a bet on Humbert. Despite the disruption, the Australian tennis star managed to clinch a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win, after which the heckler promptly left.
Check out the X thread here:
Tennis fans were outraged by the way the situation was handled, with many criticizing Cincinnati Open officials for the security failure.
CoCo Vandeweghe faced criticism for accusing Iga Swiatek of intentionally disrupting opponents' momentum
Former WTA player CoCo Vandeweghe faced criticism for alleging that Iga Swiatek intentionally disrupts her opponents' rhythm during matches. The statement came after Swiatek took a lengthy toilet break following her first set loss to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals. Upon her return, the Polish tennis star went on to win the second and third sets, respectively.
Vandeweghe, now working as a Tennis Channel analyst for the Cincinnati Open, suggested that Swiatek’s practice of taking toilet breaks or changing outfits after losing sets is a strategy to unsettle her opponents' momentum.
"It's been spoken about, Iga's tactic of going to the bathroom, changing her kit, taking her time, ALWAYS after losing a set. If I was still playing, I would definitely be very aware of it... she's trying to disrupt my rhythm...," Vandeweghe reportedly said.
Amanda Anisimova clapped back at online troll's "overweight" comment
Amanda Anisimova gave a firm reply to an online troll who made inappropriate remarks about her physique during her impressive run to the final at the National Bank Open.
After her 6-4, 6-2 quarterfinal win over Aryna Sabalenka, the American tennis star faced cyberbullying by an X user after sharing her dreams of becoming the World No. 1 and clinching a Grand Slam title.
"Why? She wants to be world Nr. 1 player and win a GS. Being overweight as a professional athlete doesn’t really help her reach her goals," the user wrote on X.
Anisimova aptly rebuked the body-shaming remark and disapproved of such unwelcome comments.
"Don’t you have anything better to do than comment on a 22-year-old’s body? Like do you have a job or friends? Damn dude trust me, I’m okay and I don’t think anyone here is asking for your advice lolz," she replied.
The 2024 National Bank Open runner-up recently withdrew from the Cincinnati Open due to fatigue.
