World number 33 Yulia Putintseva has shed some light on the security concerns she raised during her first-round defeat at Wimbledon, saying a male spectator was “screaming” between her serves and that it was “political”.
The 30-year-old said “people nowadays are acting too crazy about many things” and she had wanted the umpire to “take him out” of the crowd.
Early on in Monday’s match against Amanda Anisimova, Putintseva described the fan as “crazy” and “dangerous” and later warned the umpire that “maybe he has a knife”.
Asked about the incident following her doubles defeat on Wednesday, she told BBC Sport: “I said it because the guy was saying something crazy. I feel like those people might be crazy, maybe not. Maybe it’s just my point of view. But I was just saying ‘just take him out’.”
She confirmed she did not know the man.
Pressed on what she had heard him saying, she said: “He was actually talking about, like, political stuff. And I’m really outside of the political so I don’t want anyone on my match, when they are coming to see tennis, saying anything political.”
The chair umpire spoke to members of security after Putintseva voiced her concerns, and a spokesperson for the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said the matter had been “dealt with”.
The club’s operations manager said security protocols were followed.
The BBC understands the spectator in question left the stands on court 15 of his own accord.
Asked if she thought it had been handled appropriately, Putintseva said: “I just think that people nowadays are acting too crazy about many things, and yeah, I think the security just have to be prepared.
“Even [a] normal person can be dangerous at some point when they are struggling with something. So I think it’s just important to have security around.”