Controversies are never short in the tennis world, are they? Despite much of the action taking place on the court with the Madrid Open going on, a major argument broke out earlier today. It involved veteran American star, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, taking center stage in this episode.

The 39-year-old teamed up with Sofia Kenin and the duo was up against Erin Routliffe and Ashlyn Krueger in the first round in Madrid. The incident occurred towards the end of the second set when Routliffe’s return hit Mattek-Sands’ head hard. Subsequently, she fell to the court and lay there for quite some time.

While it didn’t look dangerous, Mattek-Sands called for a long medical timeout, having a concussion examinatio1n and taking her time to regroup. However, this irked Routliffe, as she wasn’t happy with the amount of time provided to the American star during a medical timeout. Although Routliffe and Krueger went on to win the second set, they eventually lost the match tiebreaker and bowed out of the tournament.

After the match, Routliffe was displeased with Mattek-Sands, as she believed that the long medical timeout was taken to break their momentum. Interestingly, Mattek-Sands was on fire after the timeout and even sealed the match with a neat swinging volley. As a result, Routliffe and Mattek-Sands had a cold handshake after their encounter. Nonetheless, it was a well-deserved victory for the American duo, who are coming to Madrid on the back of some wonderful performances earlier this season.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands continues to grind it out on the court

The 39-year-old American star and her partner, Kenin, have had a season to remember. Although not among the top teams in the world, they have overcome all odds to achieve tremendous success in 2024. Statistically speaking, they have notched up two title victories, one in Abu Dhabi and the other in Miami, where Routliffe had also been present, this time with Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski.

Speaking about their Miami Open run, which was a tough battle, Mattek-Sands and Kenin entered the tournament as alternates. However, the last-minute entry didn’t spark any fear as they held their nerves in almost all matches in the tournament to prevail and lift the title. “We went through it all today,” Mattek-Sands said post-match. “You really want to be flexible and adaptable, and be grounded in that moment, and I feel, like, that will get you [through] whether you’re up or you’re down.”

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Now Mattek-Sands and Kenin will be determined to continue their impressive run this year. However, for now, Mattek-Sands has to ensure she gets over the head injury incident quickly and trumps the upcoming matches as well. The pair will potentially face Coco Gauff and Taylor Townsend next, who are the fourth seeds in Madrid.