British tennis No 3 Anne Keothavong ejected from tram by inspector who then asked her ranking

 
Anne Keothavong
27 November 2012

British tennis No 3 Anne Keothavong says she was marched off a London tram “like a criminal” after forgetting to tap in her Oyster card.

She had been travelling from Wimbledon railway station when she was challenged by an inspector to prove she had paid for her journey.

Keothavong, from Hackney, had swiped her card to get into the station, but failed to tap in again on the platform. To her embarrassment, she was then forced off the tram in front of other passengers. A friend said that after she explained her mistake the inspector came back to ask if she was second or third in the rankings.

Keothavong, 29, vented her anger on Twitter, saying: “So, I’ve just been marched off the tram like a criminal coz I didn’t realise I was meant to touch my Oyster card on the platform.

“I touched it to get into the station and then planned to do the same at my destination. Thought that was all u had to do?”

Keothavong was warned that she could have faced a fine but the inspector accepted her explanation. Nick Baker, head of operations on London Tramlink, defended the actions of staff and said it took fare evasion “extremely seriously”.

He added: “Anyone found on the tram without a valid ticket or Oyster card will be questioned by revenue inspectors. This is normally carried out off the tram, and as such the passenger will be asked to leave the tram while these discussions are held.

“We have recently improved signage around the two yellow Oyster readers on the Tramlink platform at Wimbledon to make it clearer which one is for tram passengers and which one is for passengers interchanging onto National Rail.”

A friend of the star told the Standard the whole episode was “ridiculous”, adding: “The idea that Anne was somehow trying to get a free journey is just ridiculous. There was a misunderstanding but this guy was just incredibly rude and forced her off the tram in front of everyone and then threatened to fine her.

“Most ridiculous of all is that after she explained the situation he went off to his mates and then came back to ask her if she was British number two or three. Anne was obviously understandably very angry so just ignored him.”

Keothavong has dropped down the rankings behind fellow Brits Laura Robson and Heather Watson.

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