Why are Australian Open fans shouting “Siuuu!” at tennis players? Cristiano Ronaldo’s celebration explained

A new craze has taken over at the Australian Open tennis tournament, and it includes a sport crossover.

Tennis fans in the land down under have started shouting a chant sounding similar to “boo,” one that is used in soccer. The crowd is yelling “Siuuu!” during various matches in this year’s tournament. But, what does this word mean? Why are tennis fans using a soccer chant?

There aren’t many answers as to why fans have decided to chant this word in unison, much to the confusion of professional tennis players, but here’s what we know so far.

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What does “Siuuu!” mean?

“Siuuu!” is a chant used by arguably the world’s most famous soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Manchester United. The word translates to “Yes” in his native Portuguese, but Ronaldo extends out the word in order for dramatic effect. It’s the shout he uses when he scores a goal, along with his iconic jump. He began this tradition when he played on Real Madrid from 2009-2018.

“Siuuu!” has taken over the soccer world everywhere, with other professional players using Ronaldo’s celebration, and it now appears to be crossing into other sports.

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Why are tennis fans shouting “Siuuu!” at the players?

It’s not clear why fans at the Australian Open have decided to bring “Siuuu!” to this year’s tournament. It’s the first time that the chant has been recorded at a tennis tournament. 

So far, the chants were used in at least two matches including three well-known men’s tennis players. British player Andy Murray first heard the chants during his first-round win on Tuesday. He was not too thrilled about the chants, which he first took as being “boos.” He found the whole thing distracting. 

Additionally, Murray also endured the chants during one of his practice sessions.

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Then, the chants echoed during a match with the top men’s player at this year’s tournament, Daniil Medvedev while he was playing against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios on Thursday. Similarly to Murray’s reaction, Medvedev thought the crowd was booing him, which wouldn’t be the first time this happened. During an on-court interview following the match, Jim Courier tried to explain to Medvedev what the crowd was doing.

Kyrgios fed into the crowd noise during his match. He claims the fans were doing this chant for “two-and-a-half-hours” between every point. He even referred to the crowd as a “zoo.” However, following his first-round win, Kyrgios did the iconic Ronaldo move.