Spanish police were called to a second-tier men’s tennis tournament Tuesday in Madrid, after Jordanian player Abdullah Shelbayh reported that he had been racially abused by a small group of spectators.
Shelbayh, the world No. 300, was trailing 3-0 in the final set of his match at the Gran Prix Open Comunidad de Madrid Challenger event against Zsombor Piros when he asked the chair umpire to remove at least one person in the crowd.
Neither Shelbayh, the tournament nor the police have clarified what Shelbayh alleged to have been said to him. In broadcast footage of the match, Shelbayh can be heard saying “Netanyahu” to the chair umpire, in apparent reference to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel.
🚨 Lors du Challenger de Madrid, Abdullah Shelbayh a été victime de menaces et d’insultes racistes de la part d’un groupe de spectateurs. 🤢
Le Jordanien a interrompu le match pour demander l’exclusion des spectateurs concernés, et la police a interpellé l’un des perturbateurs. pic.twitter.com/g6fNvcfatF
— Avantage Tennis 🎾 (@AvantageTennis_) April 8, 2026
A spokesperson for the tournament said via email that officials called the Spanish national police after the incident. Shelbayh, the Spanish police and the ATP Tour did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
After the match, Abdullah reported that he had received racist and discriminatory comments from the spectators, the spokesperson said, and the police went to the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid to take a statement from the player.
An ATP Tour supervisor and the tournament director, Jorge Mendieta, were present, and tournament organizers told Abdullah that if he wanted to file a complaint, the tournament would also file one with him, the spokesperson said.
Abdullah then requested that the individuals involved be removed from the premises. The police identified six men between the ages of 18 and 21, the spokesperson said, before taking their information without removing them.
Shelbayh is the first Jordanian player to hold an ATP ranking, and spent a year at the University of Florida between 2021 and 2022, either side of spells at the Rafael Nadal academy. He is currently coached by the Spanish former world No. 7 Fernando Verdasco and has been ranked as high as No. 181.
“Regarding yesterday’s incident, the tournament strongly condemns any racist or discriminatory comments made against any tennis player,” the spokesperson added.
“The tournament does everything possible to prevent any incidents and ensure the players have the best possible environment. We will continue working hard to prevent incidents like this from happening again.
“Abdullah Shelbayh had our full support from the beginning, and as soon as he reported what happened, we facilitated his contact with the national police to file a report.”
Shelbayh, 22, has a 68-68 record on the ATP Challenger Tour. He has played 15 matches on the main ATP Tour, with two main-draw wins and a third at the Next Gen ATP Finals, for which he qualified in 2023. His last appearance on the main tour was at the 2025 Qatar Open.