Yoshihito Nishioka opens up on being racially abused in Rome after witnessing recent incident involving Jakub Mensik

Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka has opened up about receiving racial abuse in Rome. The Italian capital is now in the grip of tennis fever with the ATP 1000 and WTA 1000 events being organised at the same time, featuring some of the best players in the world who are battling it out to secure the ultimate prize.

On Tuesday, the Czech Republic’s young tennis star Jakub Mensik suffered a defeat in the round of 16 to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz with a score of 7-6, 4-6, 7-6. During the match, the 19-year-old had to face some controversial remarks from a certain section of the crowd sitting in the arena. The incident was shared by a user on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, highlighting exactly how difficult it was for the youngster to play in such a hostile environment.

“This is what happened during the Mensik-Marozsan match today. I know you guys must have noticed several rude spectators. They insulted Jakub throughout the match. Jakub stopped playing to talk to them and called them out. And it finally ended with his victory and a kiss bye,” the user wrote.

Japan’s Nishioka shared his side of the story while reposting the user’s video and revealed how he was subject to racial abuse in the past while being in Rome. "I saw those kind of situations in Rome. A few years ago I played Sonego and Italian fans screamed 'let’s go Sushi,' this year someone call me 'come on China' both of between the games. I know this is only a few people do but many times in Rome," he wrote.

Italy has a poor record when it comes to dealing with racism, especially in sporting events. There have been many incidents that took place in Italian football, even in the top division, where players complained about receiving racial chants from the crowd.