Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka has said he endured racism on multiple occasions during appearances at the Italian Open.
Fan behavior at the ongoing 2025 Italian Open has been repeatedly highlighted after several incidents of players being distracted by fans shouting or reacting negatively to abusive comments from some spectators.
Clara Tauson confronted a fan after he directed negative remarks at the Dane during her match with Mirra Andreeva. In the same contest, Andreeva became angry after a point was replayed when the lights suddenly turned on.
Another incident involved Jakub Mensik in his round of 32 battle against Fabian Marozsan. Like Tauson, the 2025 Miami Open champion confronted a group of fans who insulted him during the match.
Tauson lost to Andreeva, but Mensik had the satisfaction of beating Marozsan and blowing a kiss to the fans who were mocking him. In the following round, the Czech lost a tight battle in a deciding set tiebreak to Hubert Hurkacz.
Nishioka noticed the incident and shared it on X (formerly Twitter). The former world No. 24 revealed that he had suffered worse treatment from the Rome crowd, who went beyond just directing insulting remarks.
Last year's Atlanta Open champion named two instances of racist comments during his matches at the Italian Open. While acknowledging they represent a minority of the fans who attend the tournament, Nishioka said it has happened many times in Rome.
"I saw those kind situations in Rome. Few years ago I played Sonego and Italian fans screamed “let’s go Sushi” , this year someone call me “come on China” both of between the game. I know this is only few people do but many times in Rome."
While spectators being passionate and getting involved during matches is good for growing tennis, the despicable remarks Nishioka was subjected to are never acceptable and must be stamped out of the sport and society.
Nishioka being fair and stating it is only a minority of fans that made racist remarks to him does not stop it from being concerning, and the tournament should take what the Japanese ATP star went through seriously.
Thankfully, there have been no reported racist comments at this year's Italian Open, but the incidents involving Mensik and Tauson were not the only instances of players becoming frustrated with fan behavior.
Daniil Medvedev became enraged by what he felt was overly rowdy and disrespectful behavior from those inside the stadium when he faced Lorenzo Musetti and shushed them several times, leading to him being loudly booed.
Diana Shnaider also felt the fans were over-the-top during her match with Italian WTA No. 1 Jasmine Paolini. The 21-year-old sarcastically encouraged them to cheer louder, but found the atmosphere too much to handle and ultimately lost despite being 7-6, 4-0 up at one stage.
Unsurprisingly, the fans have been very passionate in matches involving Jannik Sinner. The world No. 1 returned to action on home soil after being out for three months due to the suspension given to him by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
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