Originally Published: 31 AUG 25 10:06 ET

(CNN) — Another day at the US Open, another volley of shots sent fizzing back and forth across the net, all exchanged without a ball being struck.

Flushing Meadows has become the site of flushed cheeks during the final grand slam tournament of the year, with a confrontation over grunting on Saturday serving up the latest evidence of emotions running hot in New York.

Spain’s Jaume Munar had just stamped his ticket to the fourth round with a straight-sets victory over Zizou Bergs when he approached his Belgian opponent to ask if he had been shouting “on purpose” while striking the ball.

Shaking his head in rebuttal, Bergs said the Spaniard did not need to “talk trash.” Munar responded by referencing when his opponent hit a ball into the stands during the third set, with Bergs subsequently penalized a point for ball abuse and ceding that game as a result.

Speaking after the match, Bergs said Munar had taken issue with his grunting but insisted it was not directed at his opponent, according to the Associated Press. Munar explained that while he felt Bergs “did some wrong things,” he heard the explanation that it was not intentional.

“It’s not much more than that,” he added.

It was the latest incident in a series of tense post-match exchanges that have erupted at this year’s US Open, prompting players to speculate why tempers have flared so much.

Less than 24 hours beforehand, similar scenes bookended the close of a doubles contest that saw American duo Peyton Stearns and McCartney Kessler defeat Romania’s Soran Cirstea and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya.

A meeting of all four players at the net culminated in a one-on-one discussion between Kalinskaya and Stearns below the umpire’s chair, with Kalinskaya heard on broadcast saying: “I just expected some respect. I didn’t see you saying sorry one time.”

The conversation ended with a conciliatory bumping of fists, a resolution Stearns referenced when taking to social media to explain that Kalinskaya had not seen her apologize after striking several forehand shots towards the Russian.

“Never hit her, but I put my hand up and she wasn’t looking,” Stearns continued in a post on X. “Cleared the air at the end and all is good.”

‘Hurtful, belligerent, offensive’

Respect was the incendiary buzzword for a back-and-forth between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko, the fallout of which has extended well beyond the initial encounter on Wednesday.

Ostapenko apologized on social media Saturday for accusing a “disrespectful” Townsend of having “no class” or “no education” after not apologizing for hitting the net cord, comments which drew criticism from two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka.

Townsend followed up victory over Ostapenko with a third round upset win over Mirra Andreva on Friday, and a second round doubles win on Saturday after which she stated she had not seen Ostapenko’s apology but welcomed it nonetheless, stating that it would be a “learning lesson” for the Latvian.

“She expected for me to react a certain type of way, and I didn’t, and it infuriated her,” Townsend told reporters.

“Which led her to say things that are hurtful, that are belligerent, that are offensive, not only to me, but to the sport and to a whole culture of people that I try to do my best to represent the best that I can.”

“Ultimately, when we get our emotions wrapped up in things is where we get our feelings hurt,” she added later. “It’s great she went to social media and apologized. I really hope from this she can take that, ‘Hey, you can’t control people and it’s better just to focus on yourself.’”

The net cord is at the heart of a long-running sportsmanship debate in the sport, as is the underarm serve, which was the flashpoint for Stefanos Tsitsipas’ frustrations the following day.

Greece’s two-time grand slam finalist was irked by Daniel Altmaier’s tactics during a five-set second round defeat, and he confronted the German at the net after the match.

“Next time, don’t wonder why I hit you … If you serve underarm,” Tsitsipas said as the pair shook hands, Altmaier waving the comments away before heading to shake hands with the umpire.

Yet perhaps the most heated outburst of all so far at the tournament occurred during the first round, with Daniil Medvedev ultimately fined $42,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct and racket abuse during his loss to Benjamin Bonzi.

The Russian launched a tirade at the chair umpire after a photographer stepped onto the court surface before repeatedly hitting his racket against his bench at the match’s conclusion.

‘People get into it’

So, why has the red mist descended on Flushing Meadows? The players have a few theories.

For some, the environment has a part to play, in particular a New York crowd with a raucous reputation for making Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world’s biggest tennis court, a cauldron of noise.

The smaller arenas are no exception. Whistles and boos rained down as Medvedev’s outburst whipped spectators into a frenzy, crowds screaming and shouting anytime Bonzi went to serve.

“New York City tends to bring out just a lot of drama, I guess,” Jessica Pegula said Saturday after progressing to the round of 16 on Friday. “I feel like the crowds, they’re pretty crazy. They kind of get everyone riled up.”

Coco Gauff, who won here in 2023, echoed her American compatriot, adding that while crowds are undoubtedly “passionate tennis fans,” many are used to the types of rowdy atmospheres commonplace at other events and arenas in the city.

Both Gauff and Pegula also drew attention to the importance of it being the end of the grand slam calendar, with the final push for silverware coinciding with tired minds and bodies.

“Everyone is tense. It’s the last slam of the season, your last chance to go deep at a slam for a while,” Pegula said. “I think people maybe just get stressed out, and you’re out there competing and fighting and trying to win. I think it just gets emotional. Adrenaline starts flowing. People get into it.”

Gauff countered that such heated moments occur “frequently” during tournaments held across the year, but get more social media scrutiny at the US Open due to its grand slam status.

“I think for us players it’s just another week on tour,” Gauff said Saturday. “But these things happen, I would say, more frequently than maybe the ones who just tune into the grand slams think.”

Her upcoming fourth round opponent, Osaka, sees some truth in the tiredness angle, but is putting her foot down on one argument: don’t blame it on The Big Apple.

“For me I think New York brings out my best behavior, so I don’t know what everyone else is doing,” she said.

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