Jiri Lehecka Reveals Confrontation with US Open Bettor

Written By Craig Simpkin | Published at September 8, 2026

A former world number 12 tennis player has revealed that he was subject to ‘non stop’ interference a sports bettor that he believes tried to influence the outcome of his US Open match.

Jiri Lehecka revealed that an individual, who was sat courtside during the game, incessantly told the Czech that ‘he looked tired’ and that his opponent ‘is better than you.’

It marks a significant increase in unruly behaviour at the final Grand Slam event of the year, and follows the decision of the PGA TOUR to introduce a new fan code of conduct to prevent punters from influencing results.

Mind Games

The US Open has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with unruly behaviour from some crowd members in New York being called out by players.

Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s world number one, temporarily stopped her third-round match with Kamilla Rakhimova to complain about the smell of marijuana emanating from the audience at Flushing Meadows.

Elsewhere, individual players have faced abuse, with two crowd members ejected for continuously barracking the Czech star Jakub Mensik.

His countryman, Lehecka, revealed the extent of the problem when playing on one of the smaller courts, at which audience noise and individual voices can be heard more clearly.

“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.”
“He was talking to me like: ‘You can’t do it. You are tired. He’s better than you are.”
“In that moment, I took it as a motivation.”

Influencing the Outcome

Curiously, the umpire was aware of the taunts being aimed at Lehecka, but was powerless to do anything.

They could not warn the crowd member or ask for them to be removed, as - per the rules - they were not openly ‘insulting’ the 24-year-old.

Lehecka is in no doubt that the individual had bet on his opponent and was therefore trying to influence the outcome with some choice words and mind games. “I won that match, but I think that as soon as you start going against the other player instead of cheering for the player you had a bet on, this is wrong,” he commented.

In worrying news for tennis, Lehecka and his fellow pros have confirmed that this is now the new normal for fans. “I think that we can see this, basically, I don’t want to say in every tournament, but in many tournaments, especially in Europe,” the world number 19 said.

The Other Side of the Coin

At last year’s US Open, Leandro Riedi reported a fan to the umpire – for cheering him on.

The 23-year-old, playing on one of the outside courts at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, was becoming increasingly annoyed by the impassioned support of the individual, who he suspected had placed a bet on him to win.

"It feels like more and more bettors are coming to watch,” Riedi said. “He was trying to be positive, but for me it was like, ‘be quiet, you have nothing to do with me, you're just betting on me.”

The spectator left the venue by his own volition, with Riedi later commenting that he was ‘truly sorry’ if the individual was a true fan… but added that he had a ‘gut feeling’ that they had simply bet on him to win.