Wimbledon set to begin on Monday
Tennis fans are bracing themselves for a few hot-headed moments during this year's Wimbledon tournament, which gets underway on Monday, after a spate of rows involving players in the build up to the competition.
The courts are heating up already and the famous Grass Court Competition hasn't even begun.
Spanish champion 'Alejandro Davidovitch Fokina' had some choice words for the umpire during his match against 'Jakub Mensik' at the Lexus Eastbourne Open earlier this week, resulting in him throwing his racquet to the ground after losing his cool at the end of the game, which saw his opponant come very close to levelling the match on sets. EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND – JUNE 26: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain plays a backhand against Jakub Mensik of Czechia during the Men's Singles Quarter Final match on Day Four of the Lexus Eastbourne Open at Devonshire Park on June 26, 2025 in Eastbourne, England. (Photo byfor LTA)
The umpire wasn't impressed and proceeded to hand him a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Spaniard couldn't believe it, protesting that the punishment was undeserved and refused to accept the warning, but that still wasn't the end of it, as he went on to tell the umpire that he was the 'worst umpire I've ever seen', and 'I don't know how you sit there'
Fans of the sport could be set for similar scenes in the womens competition with Russian-born Yulia Putintseva also making headlines last week. Putintseva Julia (Kazakstan) during a game against Kudermetova Veronika (Photo by Valya Egorshin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Russian-born star was told 'Nobody likes you' during a frosty post-match exchange with her rival Maria Sakkari, after she refused to look her opponant in the eye while shaking hands post match at the Bad Homberg Open.
Its also reported Putintseva appeared to take issue with Sakkari after match point, telling her to 'go f**k yourself' after giving her a half-hearted handshake at the net.
But an even more notorious incident occured on court in New York last year, when 30-year-old Putintseva, who is world No 34, glared at a young ball girl, when two balls were accidentally thrown to her at the same time, that awkward moment earned her worldwide critisism.
With personalities like these, we can look forward to some exciting and also tense moments at the most highly contested competition of them all, which begins at Centre Court in Wimbledon on Monday (June 30th).
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The Irish Sun
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