Tennis star stops match to complain about crying baby, crowd says “yes!” to booting it from courts

British tennis star Emma Raducanu paused her match at the Cincinnati Open on Monday after a baby’s cries rang out for 10 minutes, disrupting play against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. When the umpire asked if she wanted the child removed, Raducanu hesitated until the crowd loudly answered “yes” for her. The incident re-launched an old debate about where babies do and do not belong.

“Yes!”: The crowd’s reaction to Raducanu’s question says it all

2021 U.S. Open champion Raducanu was locked in a match against the current top-rated player in women’s singles, Aryna Sabalenka, when a baby started wailing in the crowd. Temperature and humidity were high that day at the Cincinnati Open on Monday, but the child’s parents apparently didn’t want to miss anything.

After 10 minutes of this, Raducanu stopped in the middle of her serve setup and approached the chair umpire.

“It’s been like 10 minutes,” she said.

“It’s a child,” the official responded. “Do you want me to send the child out the stadium?”

Raducanu kind of shrugged at first, probably not wanting to be that person, but then smiled and gestured to the crowd as calls of “yes” came from scattered seats.

“I can call in, but we need to continue for the moment,” the umpire conceded.

The British favorite was under a lot of pressure against a player ranked nine spots higher than her, but ultimately played well. Sabalenka did beat her, but it was a close match. Both players may have been distracted by the baby, with Sabalenka committing far more forced errors than Raducanu.

Raducanu’s mid-match pause fuels debate on babies at sporting events

A clip of this moment spread on X via user @enanrb, gaining 1.8 million views in under 24 hours. Part of its draw was definitely everyone’s love of the discourse around young children and where they belong or not.

Certain sports such as golf, gymnastics, and tennis require a level of quiet, at least while the players are at peak concentration. The debate falls on whether the parents should have removed the child or left them at home altogether.

Plenty of clip viewers agree with the crowd.

“As soon as babies start wailing at an event that requires silence before and during points, they should be taking them indoors,” said @PaulCoffield4.

Multiple users pointed out the heat from that day, all but guaranteeing any baby would be uncomfortable.

“Who takes a baby to a tennis match in 95° heat with humidity!” asked @BrentWags12.

“Just like the baby the other day at a concert with no hearing protection, are parents stupid nowadays, taking a baby to watch a tennis match in 32°C to just sit there and boil,” said @Skreamies.

Others, however, felt that it should be on the players to block out ambient noise.

“I don’t see an issue with a baby or child at a sport event,” wrote @highvibeshealth. “If you can’t perform with noise or chaos around you, news flash…. You’re not that good of a player.”

“One baby crying off in the distance shouldn’t impact a professional athlete that much. Tennis players are dramatic.”

User @Puntonii disapproved of the “crowd cheering because she told the ump to kick a child out….look at my sport dawg.”

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