Tennis star Stan Wawrinka tells opponent Holger Rune to ‘stop acting like a baby’ at Paris Masters

Stan Wawrinka has been branded an ‘uncommonly bad loser’ after he told his opponent to ‘stop acting like a baby’ when he was knocked out of the Paris Masters tournament.

The former Australian, French and US Open champion lost his first-round match to Holger Rune on Tuesday and told the 19-year-old, ‘My advice to you is that you stop acting like a baby on the court, OK?’ as they shook hands at the net.

Rune appeared shocked by the insult after his 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 win but didn’t hit back as they left the court.

The Danish rising star’s mother and manager Aneke was a different story, however.

‘It is hard to imagine that a sportsman like Stan would have said that,’ she told Denmark’s TV2 after the match.

‘Then he would come across as an uncommonly bad loser. Holger has only mentioned that he wished him well with the results of the past weeks.’

Rune (left) appeared shocked by Wawrinka’s outburst in Paris, but didn’t hit back at the Swiss star. His mother Aneke, however, was having none of it

It’s not clear what prompted Wawrinka’s outburst, as there were no obvious clashes between the pair during the match – but Rune has been criticised for his on-court behaviour before.

Last year the ATP investigated him for yelling homophobic slurs multiple times as he faced Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the Biella Challenger tournament in Italy.

And in June Rune said he was confronted in the locker room by Casper Ruud after losing to him in four feisty sets in their French Open quarter final.

Wawrinka was branded ‘an uncommonly bad loser’ by the Danish rising star’s mother 

Rune (pictured at the Paris Masters this week) is no stranger to controversy. He was investigated by the ATP for shouting homophobic slurs during a match in 2021

Ruud was left unimpressed by Rune’s very frosty handshake after the contest, which saw the furious Dane repeatedly shout at the umpire and even appear to yell at his mother as she sat in the player’s box.

Afterwards, Rune claimed Ruud ‘just went straight up to me and shouted “YES” right up in my face … that’s such bad style, have some respect’.

Ruud’s father called the accusation about the locker room clash ‘a pure lie’ and the Dane later admitted he ‘requires more emotional control’.

Wawrinka is no stranger to on-court controversy, either.

In 2019 he was accused of encouraging the crowd to abuse Nick Kyrgios during their Mexican Open clash, and it was alleged that the pair had to be separated at the 2015 Canadian Open after the Australian star told the Swiss that Thanasi Kokkinakis ‘banged your girlfriend’.