Back in 2023, Grigor Dimitrov endured a nightmare in Barcelona when thieves snatched his $70,000 watch ahead of the Barcelona Open, exposing a chilling pattern of gangs allegedly hunting tennis stars. The shocking episode left a scar on the sport’s glamorous facade, proving that fame can quickly turn into vulnerability. Now, the controversy has resurfaced, with Maria Timofeeva becoming the latest victim after her recent French Open heartbreak.

In one of her recent Instagram stories, Timofeeva wrote: “Another trip turned into a nightmare. New city-new robbery,” she started. The message immediately captured the emotional weight of what she had just endured.

Timofeeva detailed what was stolen. “Got my bag with passport, phone, and personal things stolen. Again. I truly don’t know what karma debts I have, but the fact that in daylight in one of the biggest cities in Europe you can’t leave anything out of sight even for half a minute upsets me a lot,” she added.

Timofeeva also expressed disappointment with the growing crime situation in major European cities. “People consider it their job right now and feel free to do this because police can’t do anything about it at this point, cause the amount of crimes like this got out of hand a long time ago,” she conveyed.

The robbery came hours after her loss in French Open qualifiers. Timofeeva suffered a difficult defeat against María Lourdes Carlé in a physically draining contest.

During the encounter, Timofeeva injured her knee while chasing down what she described as an almost impossible ball. As the match progressed, the discomfort intensified and began affecting her movement. Then, at 5-4 and 30-30, severe nerves reportedly triggered a cramp that effectively ended her chances in the match.

The contest eventually slipped away from her with a score line of 6-2, 0-6, 4-6. After enduring both physical pain and emotional disappointment on court, she was then forced to deal with the trauma of another robbery.

Speaking further about the theft, Timofeeva expressed anger over the loss of essential belongings. “And of course I don’t hope for any decency from the people who steal, but not even throwing away the passport from the bag you steal from someone-seems diabolical to me.”

“My phone, with so many valuable memories from the first half of that day, is also gone,” she later added. “I don’t even care about the materialistic part of the crime, but keeping personal things to make my life hell at this point just can’t sit right in my head. Hopefully, the justice finds these people one day.”

Unfortunately, Timofeeva’s story is not an isolated one in professional tennis. Over the years, several players have endured similar robbery incidents in major cities, showing that safety concerns away from the court continue to haunt the sport.

For instance, back in 2024, robbers even targeted the French Open complex, climbing fences and breaking into offices before escaping with $12,799 in cash and $23,271 worth of jewelry. The shocking breach exposed how vulnerable even one of tennis’ biggest events had become.

A year earlier, thieves struck again when they ransacked Lucas Pouille’s Rennes apartment during his doubles match. The burglars reportedly stole luxury watches and valuables worth over $600,000, leaving the French star deeply shaken by the incident.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time Timofeeva had faced such an experience, going through a similar robbery ordeal two years earlier.

Maria Timofeeva lost $11.4K in shocking Madrid Open robbery

After losing to Harriet Dart at 2024 Madrid Open, Timofeeva revealed she’d been robbed. Shockingly, it was the second time in six months that she had experienced such a crime in the city.

At that time, Timofeeva explained that she had noticed several unauthorized transactions on her bank account. This confused her because she had kept her debit card with her throughout most of the trip. Transactions normally required confirmation codes, yet she never received notifications on her phone.

“So, apparently, in the past few days, I’m here in Madrid, someone has been spending money from my bank account and has spent a little more than €10,000 [$11,424]. I’m freaking out because I don’t know how it could happen.”

“Physically, my card was with me most of the time, except for one episode when I left it in my room while the room was being cleaned by the maids of the hotel I’m staying in. I don’t know what else to tell,” she added in her Instagram stories.

The tennis player also confirmed that her bank account was frozen immediately after she discovered the suspicious activity. She also stated that she intended to file a police report in hopes of recovering the stolen money. Timofeeva clarified that she hadn’t used any ATMs, only using the card at her hotel for her coach’s room.

Later, she thanked her Instagram followers for their support and promised to share updates as the situation developed.

With such cases continuing to rise across major tournaments and cities, concerns around player safety have intensified sharply. Tennis authorities now need to prepare stronger measures to ensure safer passage and better protection for players during future events.