Yulia Putintseva worried about ‘dangerous’ fan at Wimbledon first-round defeat as AELTC confirm ‘matter was dealt with’

Yulia Putintseva lost her opening-round match at Wimbledon to No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova, failing to win a single game as she was handed a double bagel by her American opponent. But much of that was seemingly to do with a fan in the crowd, with Putintseva complaining to the umpire and asking for the individual to be ejected as she feared for her safety out on Court 15.

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Yulia Putintseva was beaten 0-6 0-6 by Amanda Anisimova in the first round at Wimbledon on Monday.

But the scoreline did not tell the full story of the match, with Putintseva worried about a fan in the stands.

The duo were playing on Court 15, an outside court situated between No. 1 and Centre. The outside courts have a few rows of fixed seating, with fans also able to watch from the walkways nearby.

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Towards the start of the match, Putintseva made her feelings known to the umpire about the antics of someone in the crowd.

According to the BBC, Putintseva was heard saying to the chair umpire when the score was 0-3: "Can you take him out?

"I am not going to continue playing until he leaves. These people are dangerous, they are crazy."

The situation was taken seriously, with the umpire speaking to members of security.

But Putintseva did not wish to continue until the individual was definitely removed, stating: "Take him out, because maybe he has a knife."

The AELTC stated after the match that: "Following a complaint about the behaviour of a spectator at the match on court 15, the chair umpire informed security and the matter was dealt with."

The incident certainly seemed to affect Putintseva, who at No. 33 in the world is one of the highest-ranked players not to be seeded here.

On paper, it should have been a competitive match, the first time these two had met on grass.

It proved anything but, the first round encounter lasting just 44 minutes.

Putintseva made the fourth round at Wimbledon last season, memorably beating then-world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the third round.

She did not speak to the press after the match, but Anisimova did, saying that she was sure "we are protected." The American will play Renata Zarazua in the second round.

Security at tennis matches has long been a concern, especially in the wake of Monica Seles being stabbed by a fan during a match in 1993.

"We're well-versed in the measures that need to be put in place, so players can go about playing here in the confidence they're being well looked after," said Sally Bolton, the chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

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