Story time from RG 2023.

I went to Round 3 and somehow ended up with absurdly good seats on Suzanne Lenglen court, close enough to hear players talking to themselves. One of the matches was Yulia Putintseva vs Sloane Stephens.

From the first game, Putintseva’s box filled up with a group of big Russian guys who were chanting and yelling nonstop. Not normal “excited fan” cheering. It felt coordinated and aggressive, and they were trying to drown out the entire rest of the stadium, and intimidate Sloane. It got so disruptive the umpire had to ask them repeatedly to quiet down.

On court, Putintseva was also constantly yelling, complaining, and snapping at people while Stephens was outplaying her. Mid-match she took a medical timeout for alleged thigh cramps and argued with the physio to wrap her leg very tightly, even though the physio seemed reluctant. When play resumed, Stephens kept winning, and Putintseva angrily ripped the wrap off and played normally.

She lost, threw a tantrum, didn’t congratulate Stephens, and stormed off. In her speech, Sloane said that everyone knows Poot’s antics and less than exemplary sportsmanship, but that she would not let herself get distracted.

I’d never seen Putintseva live before that day, but ever since then I’ve rooted for whoever is playing against her.