WTA star Laura Siegemund experienced a disturbing fan incident during her opening match at the Italian Open. She fumed with rage as she opened up about the incident, accusing the tournament and appealing for quick actions against such an audience.
Siegemund opened her Italian Open doubles run on May 11 with her teammate Vera Zvonareva. They competed against Miyu Kato and Andreja Klepac and delivered a strong performance, claiming a straight-set (7-5, 7-6(4)) win. Even though the German player won the opening match, she faced a disturbing experience with the crowd, who she revealed shouted at her during the match.
After winning the first round, she addressed the incident during her on-court interview, stating that she was shocked by the behavior and her win was overshadowed because of the fight. Accusing the Italian Open, she also stated that such people shouldn’t be allowed in the stadium.
“People like that really need a doctor. They ruin everything. People who shout in the middle of a match – they have to be taken away by security, they don’t belong on the tennis court. And then there are these idiots who bet and shout things that have nothing to do with respect,” said Siegemund.
She added:
“I just wanted to play my doubles here and I think we did well. But it’s completely lost with these lunatics. It’s really shocking. Now I just want to go home.”
She competed against Storm Hunter and Jessica Pegula in the Italian Open’s round of 16.
How has Laura Siegemund performed at the Italian Open so far?
Laura Siegemund opened her singles run at the Italian Open on May 6 against Sara Bejlek, where she delivered a dominating performance, registering a stunning straight-set (6-4, 6-4) victory. Advancing to the round of 64, she faced Ekaterina Alexandrova, and only losing the second set in the three-set match, she secured a 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-1 win.
Following this round, she met Karolina Plíšková in the round of 32, where the latter brought the German’s winning streak to an end by claiming a 6-1, 6-4 victory. After her singles run came to an end on May 10, she began her doubles journey; however, after winning the round, she and her partner, Vera Zvonareva, faced defeat against Storm Hunter and Jessica Pegula.
Laura Siegemund opened her 2026 season at the Adelaide International, where she fell short of advancing ahead of the qualifiers after defeat to Vera Zvonareva. She also competed at the Australian Open, where she advanced to the second round, where she lost to Maddison Inglis.
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