Muchova suddenly looked nervous in the first set when she noticed her ex-boyfriend on the stand. The referee asked if she needed any help, as Muchova was clearly stressing and let her opponent Sorana Cristea lead 4-1. However, Muchova’s class helped her overcome this setback and claim victory with the overall 2-1 win.

After the match of nearly three hours, Muchova said the presence of her former partner left her struggling to concentrate and feeling scared, although nothing happened.

“Well… it wasn’t tennis-,” she said in her native Czech, via The Athletic. “So l don’t really like talking about it. But opposite my bench, my ex-boyfriend sat down. He sometimes shows up at places where he shouldn’t be. That startled me a bit. I told him to leave, he didn’t, but later he did go. It was hard to focus in that moment.”

Muchova reached a career-high ranking of eighth two years ago and is currently placing 13th. She made it to the semifinals of the US Open in the last two editions and finished fourth at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 29-year-old player also reached the 2023 Roland Garros final and the 2021 Australian Open semis.

According to First SportMuchova keeps her personal life private. In 2016, she posted a status hinting that she’s in a relationship, but refused to answer any further question regarding her love life.

Earlier this year, Muchova witnessed the same incident when she played British tennis star Emma Raducanu at the Dubai Open. During the match, Raducanu was stalked and harassed by a male fan. She had to ask the referee for help and WTA later banned him from attending tennis matches.