Paris, June 4: Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi were disqualified from the French Open on Sunday after a ballgirl was accidentally hit by a gentle-looking Kato backhand.
The incident happened when the Japanese player and her Indonesian partner were leading 3-1 in the second set after opponents Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo had claimed the opener.
Standing at the net, Kato lobbed 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, but it hit the youngster on the back of the head.
Kato, 28, immediately apologised to the girl who was crying and shaking.
Kato received 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.
On Saturday, Russia’s Mirra Andreeva admitted she had been fortunate not to have been defaulted from her match against Coco Gauff after firing a ball petulantly into the crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
“Right after I thought that it was a really stupid move from me, because it was not necessary to do that,” admitted a crestfallen Andreeva who was beaten by the American in three sets.
“It was really bad what I did. Yes, I had thoughts like this (that she would be defaulted), but he just gave me a warning.”
Novak Djokovic was famously defaulted from the 2020 US Open after swatting away a ball in frustration which then speared into a lineswoman standing nearby.
