Jannik Sinner was approached by a fan who invaded the tennis court in shocking scenes at the Six Kings Slam before Saudi security took action.
The Italian world No.2 and Wimbledon champion is among six players currently in action at the lucrative exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia.
Netflix cameras captured a huge security breach after four-time major winner Sinner beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 6-3 in Riyadh on Wednesday.
A young fan was seen storming the court and walking towards Sinner without security stopping him following the Italian’s post-match interview.
Sinner looked somewhat confused by the incident, greeting the spectator with a handshake before the fan appeared to ask for the player’s jacket.
Sinner and the spectator spoke for several more seconds before the fan was removed by Saudi security.
Tennis fans blast Six Kings Slam security ‘failure’
Tennis fans have blasted the security team at the Six Kings Slam on social media, with some citing the 1993 incident which saw Monica Seles stabbed by a spectator in Hamburg, Germany.
‘Oh my goodness,’ @pavyg posted on X. ‘Security guards/stewards should be with Jannik Sinner and all the high profile players at all times.
‘I don’t think this fan posed a risk but fans getting within arms length of any high profile player at any event is just not good.’
‘Have we learned nothing from Monica Seles?’ @bresslernation questioned.
‘That’s horrible, how could that happen?’ @MeaziMJ added. ‘If that guy had bad intentions, he could have succeeded easily.’
‘A great failure of security,’ @IamliliPK opined. ‘The guy walked towards Jannik and no one stopped him.
‘What if he had attacked him? Remember Monica Selles?’
The incident at the Six Kings Slam, where Sinner is defending his title, comes months after a fan tried to steal out of the Italian’s bag at the US Open.
Sinner was posing for selfies with fans courtside after his last-16 win over Alexander Bublik when a man leant over and tried to unzip his bag without him noticing.
A US Open security guard realised what the thief was trying to do and swatted the man’s hand away before he could take anything out.
Sinner next faces Novak Djokovic in the Six Kings Slam semi-finals while Carlos Alcaraz takes on Taylor Fritz in the other last-four clash.
The Six Kings Slam features a $1.5million appearance fee for each player and a $6million prize for the winner.