Bizarre and disturbing: tennis player cried over ex in the stands

Czech tennis star Karolina Muchova endured a highly emotional moment at the US Open last week after noticing an ex-boyfriend in the stands — someone she said “shows up at places where he shouldn’t be.”

The world No. 13 found herself serving at 1-4 down against Sorana Cirstea on Thursday when she suddenly paused, pointed toward the crowd, and reached for a towel to hide her tears. She quickly apologized to the chair umpire for interrupting play before forcing herself to continue through the emotional setback.

“Well … it wasn’t tennis-related,” Muchova later admitted in Czech at her post-match press conference. “Opposite my bench, my ex-boyfriend sat down. He sometimes shows up at places where he shouldn’t be. That startled me a bit. I told him to leave, he didn’t, but later he did go. It was hard to focus in that moment.” Her comments were translated and first shared by The Athletic.

Despite being shaken, the 28-year-old regrouped impressively and managed to take the match.

Although players can request that certain individuals be barred from purchasing tickets or receiving credentials, Muchova has not made such a move. Instead, she tried to put the situation behind her two days later after defeating fellow Czech Linda Noskova.

“Yeah, I’m alright. I didn’t make any report, and everything is good,” she told reporters Saturday.

When asked if she felt confident it wouldn’t happen again, she admitted with a shrug of uncertainty: “I mean, who knows, right? I don’t know.”

This unsettling episode adds to a growing number of incidents in women’s tennis involving unwelcome spectators. Earlier this summer at Wimbledon, Emma Raducanu broke down in tears upon spotting a man who had previously harassed her in Dubai and was under a restraining order. He was later banned from the All England Club ballot. Ironically, that match had been against Muchova herself.