JANNIK Sinner feared a shameless fan at the US Open had managed to snatch his mobile phone and wallet from his bag as he left the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Italian tennis superstar, 23, went over to the crowd to sign autographs after he had destroyed Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik 6-1 6-1 6-1 in the last 16 on Labor Day.
As the Wimbledon champion, 23, had his back turned and was handing a towel to some spectators, a brazen punter tried to unzip his HEAD tennis case and look at the contents inside.
But before he could take any items from it, a courtside security guard intervened and prevented any potential theft.
Sinner looked far from impressed as he walked off court and footage of the incident, which was captured by another fan, went viral on social media.
Speaking for the first time about the incident, Sinner – who has earned more than $46million in career prize money – said, “No, I haven’t experienced that before.
“I checked straightaway if he took something, because you know, I don’t have only racquets there.
“I have my phone. I have my wallet. I don’t know.
“But, you know, I feel like the security are doing great job. Especially on court, you know, there are lots of security.
“I believe especially at the big tournaments they do an amazing job to make us feel safe.
“So even when new things happen like this, they do a great job. No, it’s all fine.”
On Wednesday evening, Sinner crushed fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-1 6-4 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
He has never lost a tennis match to someone from his homeland.
The world No.1 faces Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals on Friday evening as he looks to defend his title and bank the record $5million first prize.
Security at Flushing Meadows has been a hot topic this year.
Earlier in the tournament, a 14-year-old boy had a cap that was being handed to him by Polish player Kamil Majchrzak snatched out of grasp by a CEO businessman.
Majchrzak, 29, was unaware of the shocking incident at the time.
How to watch the 2025 US Open
THE tennis world has descended upon New York City for the fourth and final slam of the year.
The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows will have the eyes of the sporting universe upon it.
The 2025 US Open takes place from Sunday 24 August to Sunday 7 September.
And there is a standalone mixed-double competition as well as qualifying taking place in the week beforehand.
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But after issuing a search please on Instagram, he later met up with the kid and his family to hand over some items of sporting memorabilia.
Elsewhere, Romanian Sorana Cirstea was left devastated when her trophy for winning an event last month in Cleveland was stolen from her New York hotel room.
Sinner faces Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals on Friday night.
The winner takes on either Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final.
Sinner has won 26 hard court slam matches in a row after beating Musetti.
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