Former US Open boy’s champion Thiago Seyboth Wild is facing a lawsuit in his home country of Brazil over allegations that he abused his former girlfriend.
Earlier this week Universo Online (UOL) confirmed the world No.121 is being investigated by Rio de Janeiro’s police force over claims he was abusive towards Thayane Lima. He is facing allegations of both mental and physical assaults on his former girlfriend. Wild has already been issued with a restraining order, according to UOL.
The allegations first came to light in August when Lima, who is a biomedic and a social media influencer, posted a series on Instagram stories detailing the abuse she said she had suffered whilst with the tennis player. She also said that Wild cheated on her with other women multiple times.
“Without my noticing it, he made me change everything in my life. I started not being able to show a cleavage, I couldn’t even go to the beach to not wear a bikini. I always wore big nails, but he liked short ones,” she told UOL Esporte.
“If my political opinion wasn’t the same as his – and in fact it isn’t -, he would call me stupid and say that I had to stay with the ‘fucking blacks… that I walked.’
21-year-old Wild first rose to prominence in tennis back in 2018 when he became the first player from his country to win the US Open boys title. In the final he defeated Lorenzo Musetti in three sets. Since then, he has made steady progress on the ATP Tour and peaked at a high of 106th in 2020. Last year he won the Santiago Open to become the lowest-ranked tour-level winner from Brazil in ATP Tour history.
Lima said on one occasion Wild almost broke her finger over a photo she posted on social media where she has 1.3 million followers on Instagram. She goes on to say that there were other incidents where she was physically abused.
“One day, he hurt my finger, because he squeezed it until it almost broke just because he got angry when I published a photo on social media, alone and not with him. We were at a dinner with his parents and then he shook my hand a lot, My finger turned purple and swollen,” Lima recounted.
“When Thiago got angry, he pushed me, pulled my hair, called me a bitch, slut, garbage, dumb. I lived at home, I didn’t go out for anything while he was travelling.”
During their relationship, Lima said she ended up dependent on Wild because he didn’t like her working on social media. Furthermore, it is claimed that Wild’s father tried to strike a deal with Lima in order to prevent her from speaking publicly about their relationship. She says the family was focused on trying to maintain their son’s ‘good athlete image.’
“I was financially dependent on Thiago. We were in a stable relationship, so at his request I stopped working with Instagram advertisements. After I discovered the various betrayals, his parents became aware and claimed that they would give me material and psychological support along with the Thiago, but that never happened and I ended up totally helpless,” she said.
“He left me without any support. He cut everything, including my credit card, which was the only form of money I had to eat, get around, buy medicine if I had to. Thiago’s father suggested a deal, but none I benefited from them in front of everything that Thiago put me through. I realized that it would be more of a ‘shut up’ so that I wouldn’t expose things they didn’t want to come up about our relationship.”
The lawsuit filed against Wild is being overseen by lawyer Gabriela Amábile who is seeking compensation for ‘material and moral damages’ on behalf of her client.
Neither Wild or a member of his management has made any public comment concerning the allegations. He hasn’t played a match on the Tour since July due to a hip injury but is reportedly set to return to action at a Challenger event in Chile next month.
UPDATE – Wild hits back
Since the publication of this article, Wild has issued a statement in response to what he describes as ‘untrue and defamatory statements’ made about him by his former partner. Detailing his version of events, the Brazilian says the allegations made about him started when he stopped paying an undisclosed amount of money which he was requested to do. Suggesting that Lima is trying to seek some sort of revenge against him. Wild has also confirmed he is launching legal action against the claims which has been made against him.
“This crime of which I was a victim is already being duly investigated by the competent authorities,” Wild said in a statement.
“Regarding the disdainful statements about me, I have to clarify that they are defamatory and libellous practices that are also the object of civil and criminal proceedings already underway’
“ Although we are all far from perfect, I am happy to say that these false, fabricated, and vengeful claims are in no way a reflection of my character or actions.”
