Russian tennis player Maria Timofeeva has revealed on social media that she was left “freaking out” after €10,000 (£8,576) was stolen from her bank account while she was in Madrid.
The 20-year-old, who is ranked 99th in the WTA world rankings, had been trying to qualify for the WTA1000 Mutua Madrid Open this week. In her first match, she had achieved a straight-set victory against Fiona Ferro, but was eliminated by British star Harriet Dart in the second round.
Timofeeva, who claimed her first WTA Tour singles title in Budapest last year, revealed her confusion over how her money had been stolen and admitted her debit card “had been with her most of the time in the Spanish capital.” . She also claimed that it was not the first time she had been robbed in Spain.
‘Hello everyone, I’m Maria Timofeeva. And here I am, six months later, in Spain and here I have been robbed again,” the tennis player said in a video posted to her Instagram story on Thursday night.
‘So I would like to share my story and I could really use some advice from people who might have been in a similar situation before or how it could happen.
“So apparently in the last few days (while) I’m here in Madrid someone has been spending money from my bank account and they spent almost a little over €10,000 (£8,576).
“I’m getting scared because I don’t know how it could happen because physically my card was with me most of the time, except for one episode where I left it in my room while the room maids cleaned the room. to stay.’
Maria Timofeeva reveals that 10,000 euros have been stolen from her bank account
Timofeeva posted a video on her Instagram story asking her followers for advice.
The Russian tennis player is currently ranked 99th in the WTA rankings and won her first title last year.
Timofeeva then explained that the money had been spent in the area near where she was staying, while asking her Instagram followers to share any tips they might have on the matter.
“The purchases were made in Spain in Madrid, in this area,” he added. ‘Normally for online purchase you need a confirmation code which usually arrives on my phone but it didn’t happen.
“Yeah, I don’t know, the circumstances are crazy and I don’t know how it could happen, so please share something and be aware of the people in Spain and these situations because it happens every fucking time Come here and this is coming out control. So yeah, thanks, I guess.’
Moscow native Timofeeva enjoyed a strong start to her season in 2024, qualifying for the Australian Open before overcoming Alize Cornet, Croline Wozniacki and Beatriz Haddid Maia to reach the last 16 of the Grand Slam.
It was her best placing at one of the majors, as the 20-year-old suffered a loss to Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk.
Timofeeva failed to qualify for Wimbledon and the US Open in 2023. This came after Russian and Belarusian players were banned from competing at Wimbledon in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. The AELTC subsequently allowed them to compete as neutrals last year, with Wimbledon being the only Grand Slam to ban players from both countries.
After posting the video on Instagram, she followed up with a separate story, clarifying several points, before again revealing that she would be filing a report with the police about the incident.
Timofeeva was playing at the WTA1000 Mutua Madrid Open when the incident occurred
Timofeeva (pictured in Paris) admitted her confusion over how the money had been withdrawn from her account.
She also followed up with a separate message, stating that she would contact the police.
The Russian tennis player failed to qualify for the Madrid Open after suffering a defeat against Harriet Dart
He has had a good start to the season, reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open.
“Just to clarify a few things,” he wrote. ‘1. I didn’t receive any SMS about spending money from my account because the SIM connected to the bank is not the main one, so I didn’t install it until today.
‘2. My card is a debit card and my bank has very limited communication options, so they didn’t contact me as well until I spent €10,000 in one day and they blocked the card. So for now I could only send them an email and hope they can refund the money.
‘3. I didn’t use ATMs during my stay here and the only place I used a card reader was the official tournament hotel while paying for my coach’s room.
‘4. Physically the card was with me and for online purchases, these frauds would need your data and a conformation code, so the main question is how the hell did they do it,” he added with a laughing face emoji.
He later thanked his Instagram followers for responding to his post, before also writing: “Tomorrow I will write a report to the police and will keep you informed.”