"Why wasn't this done when Naomi Osaka complained?" "Try being Novak Djokovic" - Fans react to Bianca Andreescu dealing with a rowdy fan at Citi Open
Bianca Andreescu had an unwanted experience during her Citi Open match against Marta Kostyuk in Washington. A spectator continuously heckled Andreescu, prompting her to get him removed from the stands.
The Canadian was playing Kostyuk in the first round of the tournament. After losing the first set, Kostyuk staged a comeback to win the second and then saved match points in the deciding set to eventually beat Andreescu.
The Ukrainian fired three aces en route to her 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory in a match that lasted a little less than three hours.
During the third set of the match, seconds after Andreescu missed a serve, a spectator yelled 'out,' forcing the Canadian to ask him to shut up. Soon after, the chair umpire called security to remove the heckler from the stands.
Bianca Andreescu screams ‘Shut up!’ at a guy in the crowd who keeps cheering when she misses a serve.
He was even saying ‘Out’ after her missed serves.
Security was called to remove the man from the stadium.
Bianca refused to play until he left. pic.twitter.com/cquJoLTFaB
Several fans reacted to the incident, with one recalling how Novak Djokovic has frenquently been heckled during his matches.
"Now try being Novak Djokovic, that gets tons of it in every match," the fan wrote.
@TheTennisLetter Now try being Novak Djokovic that gets tons of it in every match.
Another fan touched on how Naomi Osaka was heckled during her 2022 Indian Wells match and questioned why that heckler did not face similar consequences.
"Why wasn’t this done when Naomi complained about the guy who yelled "you suck,"" the fan commented.
@TheTennisLetter Why wasn’t this done when Naomi complained about the guy who yelled “you suck”
Certain fans also criticized Bianca Andreescu for not being able to tune out such hindrances.
"She can’t win matches so she blaming spectators now? lol," one user wrote.
She can’t win matches so she blaming spectators now? lol twitter.com/thetennislette…
Another Twitter user made fun of the fact that someone paid money just to heckle a player, which eventually led to him getting removed from the match.
"Imagine paying money to go heckler a player and then get kicked out lmao. Definition of a loser," the fan tweeted.
@TheTennisLetter Imagine paying money to go heckler a player and then get kicked out lmao. Definition of a loser.
Below are a few more fan reactions:
The fan is lame, but it looks like weak mentality to me tho. Any Heckler saying “out” on your missed serves shouldn’t have much impact on your performance if you stay focused. twitter.com/TheTennisLette…
Good. And he should be banned from attending any match this year. twitter.com/thetennislette…
How mentally weak do you have to be for this to bother you twitter.com/thetennislette…
sooo ridiculous, Bibi slayed as she should twitter.com/thetennislette…
How has Bianca Andreescu fared in 2023 so far?
Bianca Andreescu kicked off her 2023 season at the Adelaide International 1 but lost to Veronika Kudermetova in the second round of the tournament. At the 2023 Australian Open, the Canadian again lost in the second round.
She regained some form at the Thailand Open and even reached the semifinals, but her joy was short-lived as she retired midway during her last-four match against Lesia Tsurenko. After competing in a few more tournaments, Andreescu once again retired midmatch at the Miami Open.
Since then, Bianca Andreescu has played quite few tournaments but hasn't crossed the third round in any of them. The former US Open winner last reached a final in 2022, at the Bad Homburg Open, where she lost to Caroline Garcia in the final.