The Rome Open director, Paolo Lorenzi, addressed the insults that some players have received during matches and warned that those responsible were being monitored with ‘utmost attention’, with the aim of banning them from entering other live tennis events.
During the week of the Italian Open, several players faced spectators who insulted them during matches. One of these involved Jakub Mensik – recent Miami Open champion – who even asked a fan for explanations for his insults during his match against Fabian Marozsan. Mensik ended the match even mockingly blowing kisses at the individual in the crowd.
On the women's side, a similar situation occurred when Clara Tauson faced Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round of the Rome Open. The Dane approached a man in the stands and asked ‘who are you?’ when he cheered because Tauson committed a double fault. The Dane responded with an ace on her second serve and making gestures at the same man.
The tournament director specifically pointed to online betting as a factor that has fueled these incidents. "The phenomenon of 'live' improvements on tennis courts, as well as at other sporting venues, has long been monitored by our Federation with the utmost attention," said Lorenzi.
"The FITP will ensure that individuals identified as responsible for disruptive behavior are never again allowed to set foot in a venue hosting a federated event," stated Paolo Lorenzi, Tournament Director of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
"While betting is, of course, a permitted activity for adults under the conditions set by law, we find it entirely unacceptable for this activity to intersect in any way with professional competition."
Lorenzi reached his career-high ranking of world No. 82 back in 2018, a time when he was the Italian No. 1. He also holds the curious record of being the oldest first-time champion in ATP history by winning the Kitzbuhel Open title in 2016 at the age of 34.
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