A spectator is one of the most important parts of a tennis match, occasionally dictating the outcome by their verbal support between the points. However, an incident during the doubles match between Jeļena Ostapenko and Erin Routliffe and the Czech duo of Marie Bouzková and Linda Nosková in Madrid left the former fuming.
Fan Obstructs Jeļena Ostapenko’s Madrid Open Doubles Match
The 2017 Roland Garros champion Ostapenko entered the Madrid Open women’s doubles tournament as the fourth seed, teaming up with Kiwi tennis player Routliffe. The duo faced the Czech pair of Bouzková and Nosková in the Round of 32 match on Saturday, April 25.
Unfortunately, the actions of a fan present in the stands at Court 6 forced the match officials to intervene and escort them out of the stadium to continue the match. In the match tiebreak, when the scoreline was 6-7 (2), 7-5, 4-1 in favor of the Czech duo, and Bouzková was preparing to serve, a fan disrupted the match with an explicit comment.
Taking immediate offense, Ostapenko called out the chair umpire, asking him, “Did you hear that? Did you hear that? He yelled, ‘Shut the f*** up.'” Known for her outspoken nature, the Latvian didn’t stop there as she asked the umpire to “Get him out of here, please,” stopping the match.
“Did you hear that? He yelled shut the fuck up. Get him out of here please”
No bad behavior in Penko’s crowd pic.twitter.com/9rgGIqtj2Z
— Owen (@kostekcanu) April 25, 2026
As the chair umpire left his position, Ostapenko came to the net and waited until action was taken against the person. The chair umpire pointed to the fan and instructed security to remove him from the stands, but the fan himself left his seat immediately, with the entire stadium applauding.
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The match continued after the person left the arena, with the Czech pair securing a 6-7(2), 7-5, 10-6 win against the Latvian-Kiwi duo, advancing to the next round. Bouzková-Nosková will now take on the French-Serbian pair of Kristina Mladenovic and Aleksandra Krunić in the Round of 16 tomorrow.
Ostapenko’s History With Heated Fan Exchanges
This was the second incident this month in which Ostapenko stood up against an immoral act by fans. Earlier during the Linz Open, when she faced the Filipino sensation Alexandra Eala in the Round of 16, the 2017 Roland Garros Champion engaged in a more direct exchange with a heckler, pointing to his racket and asking him to come to the court and play.
Notably, back in August 2025, 25th seed Ostapenko was involved in a verbal battle with Taylor Townsend after losing to the American in the second round. She made remarks about Townsend’s “class” and “education” while accusing her of being disrespectful during the match.
This brought massive backlash on the Latvian on social media, with fans rallying behind Townsend after the incident, prompting Ostapenko to apologize.
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Despite today’s loss, Ostapenko’s Madrid Open campaign isn’t over yet, as she has a third-round match against the Russian-Austrian star Anastasia Potapova on Sunday, April 26. She defeated the Swiss player Simona Waltert 6-2, 7-5 in straight sets in the second-round match after receiving a first-round bye due to her 21st seeding.
PFSN’s exclusive interactive simulator predicts a nearly 50-50 chance of both players advancing to the next round, with emotionally charged Ostapenko having a slight edge over her opponent.
