"Yelling Hitler slurs! Wtf?": Serena Williams' ex-coach chastises US Open fans after Alexander Zverev incident; reveals she had drink thrown on her
Disruptive behavior from fans at the US Open this year has caused a lot of controversy, and Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs is the latest victim of it.
Stubbs, who is currently working at the US Open as an analyst and commentator, said that she had an encounter with some ill-mannered spectators at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), the 52-year-old suggested that some fans have gotten out of control this year at Flushing Meadows. Stubbs even had a drink thrown at her by a female spectator.
"There are some fans this late at night @usopen that are not good! [Love] the fans but at this point there are some bad characters. I had a drink thrown on me last night by a drunk fan who was fighting with her boyfriend. Now we got someone yelling Hitler slurs! Wtf? Come on peeps," Stubbs wrote.
The Hitler-related incident that Stubbs is referring to here occurred during Alexander Zverev's fourth-round match in New York on September 5. During the contest against Jannik Sinner, Zverev reported to the chair umpire that he heard someone in the crowd shout a phrase attributed to Adolf Hitler. The fan was later removed from the Arthur Ashe Stadium by security personnel.
"He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is," Zverev told chair umpire, according to tennis journalist Jose Morgado.
Alexander Zverev to face Carlos Alcaraz in US Open QF
The 26-year-old German labored past Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of the US Open to reach yet another quarterfinal at the year's last Grand Slam tournament. The intense five-setter lasted 4 hours and 42 minutes, with Zverev eventually prevailing 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. The No. 12 seed will next face the defending champion and top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the last eight.
Zverev and Alcaraz have clashed five times on the ATP Tour so far, with the former leading 3-2 head-to-head. However, it was the young Spaniard who won their latest contest. Alcaraz swept aside Zverev with little trouble, 6-1, 6-2, when the two men met at the 2023 Madrid Open in May.
In New York, Zverev began his campaign with a convincing straight-sets win over Alexander Vukic. He then triumphed against fellow German Daniel Altmaier and No. 19 seed Grigor Dimitrov before downing Sinner. The US Open has been Zverev's favorite hunting ground since he reached the final in 2020 (losing to Dominic Theim.)
He would now be hoping to reach his second Grand Slam final of 2023 after getting to the final four in Paris.