The men’s final at the Italian Open between Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud had a brief interruption, and it had nothing to do with tennis. During Sky Sports’ pre-match segment from Foro Italico, presenter Gigi Salmon and guests Tim Henman and Laura Robson were caught off guard when a fan in the crowd made a rude gesture on camera. The moment ended up live on broadcast, leaving Salmon to address the awkward interruption in real time.

“I just want to make a quick apology after someone made a rude gesture which they shouldn’t have been making behind Tim just now. And it wasn’t Tim doing the gesture but he’s now gone,” she said on air. The individual was removed from the broadcast area, but the clip had already circulated online before the apology had finished.

It was an awkward moment for a broadcaster trying to set the stage for one of the biggest finals of the clay season, especially because what followed was historic.

Jannik Sinner went on to beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to win the Italian Open and complete the Career Golden Masters, becoming only the second player in history after Novak Djokovic to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.

The final itself was a strong showing from the World No. 1, who didn’t look visibly affected by the physical toll he had endured just two days earlier in the semi-final against Daniil Medvedev.

That earlier match had been disrupted by rain and turned into a brutal test, with Sinner even vomiting on court and requiring a medical timeout before eventually closing out the third set 6-4 once play resumed. He later admitted that his sleep that night was far from ideal.

Still, he managed to recover in time to deliver in the final, underlining just how demanding his path to the title really was.

“Usually during the night I never struggle to sleep, but this night was not easy. When you’re in the third set, nearly done, but you still have to show up again, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s basically a new start to the match. There are nerves again,” he said after the semi-final.

None of that carried over into the final. Ruud, heading into the match with a 0-8 record in sets against Sinner, had spoken honestly about the scale of the challenge. “At the end of the day he’s human. I have to try to think that way as much as I can. Last year I was kind of blown out of the court by him. We will both remember it, of course. I hope that’s not the case,” he had said. It was, again, the case. Sinner closed it out in straight sets without ever appearing threatened.

The win brought Sinner’s run to 29 straight victories since a loss to Jakub Mensik in February in Doha. He’s also the first player in ATP history to win the first four Masters of the season, as he picked up Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, and Madrid before Rome. He has not lost since his retirement against Tallon Griekspoor at the Masters level in October 2025. 

Sky Sports had already faced an awkward moment earlier in the tournament

Sunday’s pre-match incident was not the first time Sky Sports found themselves issuing an apology during the Italian Open fortnight. The broadcaster mistakenly showed Hamad Medjedovic on Court Pietrangeli in a sensitive moment earlier in the tournament during his third-round duel with Mariano Navone.

“Ooh. Well, he has been battling for three hours; he might be coming up against his limits here. Can we get through one more point? Sorry that we got that on camera, everyone,” commentator Naomi Cavaday said on-air.

“Just a delay as he has a drink, washes his mouth out. We are going to play the match point now. Just needs to find a way over the line now,” Cavaday added.

Medjedovic had been in the middle of a dramatic battle, recovering from a set down, blowing two match points, and ultimately holding on to win a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win. His win put him in the last 16 of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time in his career, and the highlight was marred only in the immediate aftermath by the broadcaster’s coverage. 

This wasn’t a one-off for Sky Sports for their 2026 tennis fare. In March, at the Miami Open, the commentator Jonathan Overend had no choice but to apologize while live on air after Jessica Pegula was heard yelling on a hot mic during her match with Elena Rybakina, with the viewers clearly hearing her frustration. 

Three on-air apologies in the span of two months is not an outcome any broadcaster would want to be associated with, particularly during some of the sport’s most high-profile events. For a network with the reach and reputation of Sky Sports, the fortnight at the Italian Open will likely be one they are relieved to move past.