Doubles pair disqualified from French Open after shot hits ball girl
Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi were disqualified from the French Open after a ballgirl was accidentally hit by a stray ball.
Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi were disqualified from the French Open on Sunday after a ballgirl was accidentally hit by a harmless-looking lob in an incident which also called into question the sportsmanship of their opponents.
@CovfefeAnon Insane! Never send a ball girl to do a ball boy's job.
— DosXXMaquina (@DuosEquis) June 5, 2023
Doubles pair are DISQUALIFIED from French Open after ball girl is struck on the shoulder by Japan's Miyu Kato shot and left in tears https://t.co/9WhC4ATaAG pic.twitter.com/1nLH5bjdU6
Standing at the net, Kato gently backhanded a ball in the direction of the ballgirl standing at the opposite end of Court 14 in an apparent effort to help the flow of the match.
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Instead, it hit the youngster on the back of the head, who was visibly shaken afterwards.
Kato, 28, immediately apologised to the girl who was crying and shaking.
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At first, Kato received just a warning, but the supervisor was then called to the court and the pair, seeded 16 in the tournament, were disqualified from the third-round match after Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo had protested to the umpire.
The moment quickly went viral on social media, with many analysing the video and questioning whether Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo had pushed for a default as opposed to the initial warning.
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