3 times tennis players were nearly attacked during tournaments ft. Roger Federer's scary run-in with fan at French Open
Tennis may not be known for its brutality, but the story off-court, says otherwise. While stars like Viktor Troiki, Rafael Nadal, and Rodger Federer, are used to ardent followers, now and then the fandom also rears their ugly side.
According to the International Tennis Federation,
"The National Association and/or the Tournament Director/Event Organiser is/are responsible for managing all areas of safety and security at a Sanctioned event.".
However, event organizers have often faced criticism for poorly following those guidelines.
One of the most significant episodes in this regard can be traced back to 1993. Former World No. 1, Monica Seles, was stabbed by a Steffi Graf fan at Hamburg's Citizen Cup. Event authorities were heavily criticized for the lack of security, which impacted the career trajectory of one of the best tennis players of the time.
Despite the strict measures, the grounds have been privy to a few on-court mishaps that translated into nearly dangerous attacks, on some of our favorite champions.
#3 Viktor Troicki at the US Open qualifiers 2023
During the 2023 US Open, former tennis player Viktor Troicki was an audience member, watching a match between Hamad Medjedovic and Borna Gojo. Apparently, the Serbian star had asked a man behind him to keep his voice low, who supported Borna Gojo.
The fan, enraged, engaged in a heated argument with the former World No.12. The argument took a difficult turn when the audience member started aggressively moving towards the Troicki. Ultimately, the former had to be held back by security personnel.
The video of the incident went viral where the US Open fan can be seen hurling abuses at Troicki. The incident was condemned by his fellow spectators as well as the viewers of the video on social media.
#2 Rafael Nadal at the 2013 French Open
At the 2013 French Open finals, Rafael Nadal defeated David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to win his eighth title at Roland Garros. However, in the middle of an otherwise smooth encounter, the match was interrupted by a masked man dressed only in trousers who crossed the spectator barrier and ran onto the court waving a flare.
While the security interrupted and prevented any harm from being caused to the Spaniard, it surely left him baffled. He dropped a serve at the following point. Nadal's opponent later joked that the former 14-time-French Open winner was scared, something the claycourt champion did not deny either.
The match continued the way it was going but surely startled the audience while the focus on security was increased.
#1 Roger Federer at the 2009 French Open
During Roger Federer's French Open final against Sweden's Robin Soderling, the Swiss champion was attacked by an intruder wearing a red shirt, and carrying a red and blue flag.
The incident occurred when Soderling at 2-1 down, was getting ready to serve in the second set. Within 20 seconds, the intruder ran towards Federer with the flag and tried to wrap it around his head.
The Swiss who won his first French Open title thereafter backed away while the intruder ran across the court and was chased by security to the opposite side of the net before being captured.
Federer who was clearly disturbed after the incident went on to lose three points. According to the Guardian, he said,
"I didn't know exactly what happened. All of a sudden I heard the crowd and I looked over and he jumped over the fence or something. That gave me a fright, just like seeing him so close right away."
He added, "Looking back, it definitely threw me out of my rhythm a little bit. One game later I thought that maybe I should have sat down and taken a minute or two to kind of reflect on what just happened."
Federer's opponent, Soderling was taken aback by the intruder running across the court and seemed to be disappointed with the security, saying,
"It wasn't really a nice thing to see. I think the security was at least as surprised as we were. It's very bad that things like this can happen."
Despite the mishap, the match proved to be memorable. Federer went on to win the game, securing his first French Open title.