During their first-round match at the 2024 Barcelona Open, Rafael Nadal apologized to Flavio Cobolli for being made fun of by boisterous Spanish fans. In an hour and twenty-six minutes, Nadal—who had rejoined the tour after an almost three-month hiatus—beat Cobolli 6-2, 6-3.
When a fan yelled “arrivederci Flavio” (farewell Flavio) as the match was coming to a close, things became tense. Rafael Nadal responded by shaking his head angrily and apologizing to Cobolli on behalf of the audience.
Check out the video below:
In the second round, Rafael Nadal’s Barcelona career came to an end as he lost to fourth seed Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-1.
Tennis controversy: Rafael Nadal criticizes the Barcelona Open following a taunt directed at his rival
When the Barcelona Open audience jeered Flavio Cobolli, Rafael Nadal apologized on behalf of the crowd, while Iga Swiatek batted down questions about her rivalry with Emma Raducanu at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
After Alex de Minaur defeated Rafael Nadal in the Barcelona Open second round, a tennis interviewer was criticized for his questioning of the player. Apostolos, the father of Stefanos Tsitsipas, drew criticism for his incessant speech during Greece’s semifinal matchup in Barcelona versus Dusan Lajovic.
Additionally, Laura Siegemund was criticized for how she handled a heated call during her Stuttgart first-round match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.
In light of that, the main disputes from the previous week are summarized here:
