‘They disturb the game’: how betting fans are taking over tennis courts

Jeering and heckling are increasingly commonplace, even at grand slams, as spectators try to influence matches

Midway through the first week of the US Open a couple of years ago, Jiri Lehecka's attempts to find his form were disrupted by incessant taunting from a spectator close by. There was a guy who sat just behind my bench on a smaller court, court four, and he was talking to me basically for the first three sets, like non-stop," Lehecka says. He was talking to me like: You can't do it. You are tired. He's better than you are.'"

Lehecka maintained his composure and closed out the match, but even as he focused on navigating the intense stress of competition, he believed he understood this spectator's motivations. The spectator, he thinks, was not there just to cheer for his favourite player: he was a bettor who had put money on Lehecka to lose. He had entered court four solely to influence the outcome of the match.