Wimbledon: Five of the biggest tantrums and meltdowns
Published:
Wimbledon begins on Monday and that means another fortnight of strawberries and cream, of ‘quiet please’ and of course, some mega tennis tantrums.
Maybe it’s the pheromones drifting off the lush green grass, maybe it’s the great British summer, or maybe it’s the sheer intensity of one of sport’s finest tournaments, but something in south-west London certainly tips players over the edge.
So as we gear up for another 14 days of tennis drama, we’ve taken a little trip down memory lane to recall some of Wimbledon’s most infamous meltdowns.
We think you’ll recognise a few known hot-heads…
Greg Rusedski – 2003
Oh Greg. The crowd were only trying to cheer you on!
Back in 2003, the Canadian-born Brit was up against Andy Roddick in a battle of mega-servers. To be fair, spectators shouldn’t call a ball out. The umpire should also have replayed the point. (Probably).
Greg promptly went ballistic with an expletive-laden rant. But it didn’t help as Roddick won in straight sets.
Nick Kyrgios – 2015
Of course the bad boy of tennis would be in this list.
Just last year the Australian seemingly threw away his second set versus Richard Gasquet.
The crowd, rightly, didn’t enjoy the lack of respect shown, and though the youngster rallied to take the third set, Gasquet cleaned up in the fourth.
Jeff Tarango – 1995
American Jeff Tarango became forever known in the annals of tennis history with his explosive meltdown in 1995.
Disagreeing with umpire Bruno Rebeuh during a third round clash with Alexander Mronz, Tarango demanded Rebeuh be replaced and called him ‘the most corrupt official in the game’.
The crowd jeered and Tarango amazingly told them all to ‘shut up’, storming off court and forfeiting the match.
What’s more, when Rebeuh did leave court after the match, Tarango’s wife attacked him, slapping him twice. Utter madness.
Andy Murray – 2014
He may be Wimbledon’s golden boy, but Andy Murray can sometimes have a downright potty mouth.
The Scot was caught unprepared after an early recall following a rain delay in his quarter-final clash with Gregor Dimitrov two years ago.
Clearly unhappy with the situation, Murray would make 37 unforced errors in addition to dropping the F-bomb three times.
John McEnroe – 1981
You cannot have a list of Wimbledon meltdowns without featuring the most famous tantrum of all.
We don’t need to explain what happened. Simply watch and enjoy.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
