Caroline Wozniacki lost to Monica Puig 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. (AP)
World number two Caroline Wozniacki on Saturday claimed that her family was subjected to death threats during her encounter against Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig in the Miami Open. In a post shared on Twitter, the Denmark tennis star wrote, “Last night I lost a tough match to a great opponent and friend Monica Puig at the Miami Open. I am fully aware that tennis is a game of wins and losses. However, during the match last night people in the crowd threatened my family, wished death upon my mom and dad, called me names that I can’t repeat here and told my Fiance’s niece and nephew (who are 10 years old) to sit down and shut the f*** up, meanwhile security and staff did nothing to prevent this and even accepted this to take place.”
The Australian Open 2018 winner further added that the fans should not cross “certain lines”. “While I always encourage fans to cheer for their favourite player, and I thrive on a challenging atmosphere when certain lines are crossed, it makes tennis miserable for both competitors.
— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) 24 March 2018
Wozniacki further added asked Miami Open to take action on the incident. “I hope the Miami Open chooses to take this seriously because it’s a horrible example to set for the next generation of tennis players and fans,” she said.
In response, Miami Open organisers said that the security officials did not witness any “specific threats”. “The match between Caroline and Monica was played in front of a loud and passionate crowd. While I personally feel that no-one should have to endure any sort of abuse on the court, we do our best to provide a safe and fair environment. During the match, we had tournament and WTA staff as well as tournament security courtside. They never witnessed, nor were they notified, of any specific threats made to the players or their families. If we had been notified, the situation would have been handled immediately,” tournament director James Blake said.
Monica Puig shrugged off an opening set bagel to rally for a 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over world number two Caroline Wozniacki in the second round of the Miami Open on Friday.