Wild moment umpire runs after fan as player’s towel taken at end of match

There was a truly bizarre moment at the end of the Australian Open match between Lin Zhu and Rebecca Marino on Tuesday as a towel was taken from right in front of the players.

Lin clinched a 6-2 6-4 victory over Marino, but it was after the handshakes that the real drama began as the players spotted a fan taking away one of the Chinese player’s towels. It potentially looked as though two towels were taken by separate fans.

Marino was quick to let her opponent know about the incident, even though she had just suffered a tough opening-round defeat.

“Somebody just took your towel!” a shocked Marino said to Lin.

That was when British umpire James Keothavong stepped in. He yelled “Oy!” at the fan before jumping down from his chair to chase after the individual.

Indeed, he raced through the advertising hoardings, out of the gate and after the person. Unfortunately, what followed was not picked up by the cameras, but it was some heroic work from Keothavong, going well beyond his umpiring duties.

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