cincinnati open

Babies, toddlers and children belong in public spaces just like the rest of society. Unless an event or place of business is clearly marketed as child-free then children deserve to be in those places at their parents discretion. It's their presence in varying situations that help teach them social norms of the environment in which they're existing. If parents bring a two-year-old to a casual dining restaurant and they throw a tantrum, chances are both the parents and the child are learning from that moment.

But as parents, when brining our children into public spaces, we also have to be aware of our surroundings to adjust parenting expectations accordingly. Meaning, you wouldn't parent your toddler the same in a movie theater as you would at the park. Different situations call for different levels of situational awareness, so when one parent brought their child to the Cincinnati Open a player had to ask them to leave.

Tennis player serving under a clear blue sky.Photo credit: Canva

Emma Raducanu was in a match against Aryna Sabalenka, as she was about to serve you could hear a child crying in the crowd. Instead of serving the ball to Sabalenka to start the match, Raducanu looks over at the umpire seemingly frustrated and says, "it's been like 10 minutes" referring to the child crying. The umpire looks surprised and clarifies by asking if the tennis player wanted the child to be removed to which a chorus of voices responded to the question in the affirmative, as did Raducanu.

The match had to continue according to the umpire but she promised to make a call to have the parent take the child outside of the stadium. If you've ever watched a tennis match, the venue is completely silent outside of the sound of the ball whizzing from one racket to the next along with the grunts of the players. Because tennis is accustom to such quiet events, players are known to ask to have someone removed for being distracting so Raducanu's move shouldn't be surprising.

Focused intensity on the tennis court.Photo credit: Canva

This is where parental situational awareness may have helped save some embarrassment. The match was played outside in the 90 degree heat, which means the small child was likely hot, uncomfortable and bored. There's not much for spectators to do outside of spectate when at a tennis match. For that reason, people feel as if the parent of the child should've been more courteous of others by removing the child into an air conditioned area or finding somewhere for the little one to let off some energy. If nothing else, this was a teaching moment for the parent albeit frustrating for the players and other spectators.

"6mo boy dad here. We took him to Bingo with my mom when he was I think 3mo and I spent probably 1/4 of the evening walking him around the parking lot because they had a strict policy about excess noise while numbers were being called. I knew about it when we signed up to go, and I took that responsibility very seriously. The stakes for that were so much lower than this, and I still felt afterwards like I had made a mistake and we haven't done it again since. He was and still is just too young. If a player called out my crying son and I at a tennis tournament after 10 minutes of me somehow staying in my seat for whatever reason, I don't know that I'd ever leave the house again," one person writes on a Reddit post about the situation.

"It was 100 degrees out and the child had been screaming for 10+ minutes at this point. I would've lost my patience wayyyy earlier," another says.

"Yep. If we’re out and my toddler starts fussing I take her outside to walk around for a bit. If she still won’t relax I tell my wife to enjoy dinner(we only go out with her family) and I’ll see her at home later. I’m not going to ruin someone else’s day/night by forcing them to listen to a kid crying. Tennis is supposed to be a quiet spectators sport. The ump shouldn’t need to be asked to kick the baby out," someone else shares.

Tennis match in action: focused and ready to volley! 🎾Photo credit: Canva

"Cincinnati resident here. With the heat and humidity we've had, I can't fathom taking my almost 2 year old to one of these tennis matches. We get her out for 30-45 minutes at absolute most before getting her inside to cool off and hydrate. That poor baby must have been so hot and miserable" one commenter expresses.

People were sympathetic to the parent's fear of missing out as well as the obvious discomfort of the child but overwhelmingly they all agreed that the tennis player had every right to ask them to remove the child. Babies and children belong in public places just as much as the next person but having an escape plan when possible for meltdowns is essential to the courtesy of everyone else.