French Open officials disqualified a women’s doubles team on Sunday after one of the women lobbed a ball that accidentally pelted a ball girl, causing her to burst into tears.
Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi had lost their first set to Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo but were up 3-1 in the second. That’s when Kato, of Japan, lobbed the ball off court, and it inadvertently hit a ball girl. The ball girl, who had been facing Kato as the ball approached, turned at the last minute and the ball appeared to hit her in the back, video of the incident shows.
Watch the video here:
The umpire initially issued a warning to the 28-year-old Kato, but Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo lobbied for disqualification, citing tournament rules.
“Per tennis rules, if a ball person is hit during a match and is hurt, the player or team is disqualified,” the New York Post explained.
Umpire Alexandre Juge initially gave Kato a warning, but Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo asked that their opponents be disqualified, per rules of the tournament, ESPN reported.
After a lengthy discussion between three officials, as well as with the ball girl, the umpire defaulted Kato and Sutjiadi, meaning “disqualified” in tennis terminology.
ESPN described the interchange between Juge, Czech Republic’s Bouzkova, and Spain’s Sorribes Tormo:
“No, no, let me explain to you. [Kato] didn’t do it on purpose. [The ball girl] didn’t get injured,” Juge said.
“She didn’t do it on purpose? She’s crying,” Sorribes Tormo said.
“And she has blood,” Bouzkova added, prompting the umpire to go to see the ball girl, who was sobbing.
a tough scene in Paris. Doubles partners Kato/Sutjiadi just got defaulted as Kato hit a ball girl accidentally at 6-7(1), 3-1.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/A7BIshh1CX
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 4, 2023
Bouzkova told reporters after the match that the sound of the ball hitting the girl “concerned” her, and that the girl cried “for another 15 minutes,” Tennis.com reported.
“Obviously, it’s very unfortunate overall,” Bouzkova said about the decision. “Sara and I, we’ve never been in this kind of situation, so we were kind of shaken up by this as well. It’s just a tough situation for everyone. But it’s something that, I guess, has to be taken by the rules as it is, even though it’s very unfortunate for them.”
Kato apologized to the girl just after the incident. She later tweeted:
I would like to sincerely apologize to the Ball Girl, my partner Aldila&Team, & my supporters because of today’s unfortunate mishap. It was completely unintentional. As a result, I am penalized by RG by forfeiting my prize money & points. I appreciate all your continued support!
I would like to sincerely apologize to the Ball Girl, my partner Aldila&Team, & my supporters because of today’s unfortunate mishap. It was completely unintentional.
As a result, I am penalized by RG by forfeiting my prize money & points. I appreciate all your continued support!— Miyu Kato / 加藤 未唯 (@miyukato1121) June 4, 2023
“At the end of the day, it was the referee’s decision. He got the way we saw it, the way the [chair umpire] saw it, and the supervisor got information from that. They obviously, also, talked to our opponents and what they think happened, and it was in his hands,” Bouzkova concluded.
Kato went on to score a mixed doubles victory with partner Tim Pütz against Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos, and Sorribes Tormo and Bouzkova will play against Ellen Perez and Nicole Melichar on Tuesday.
05 June 2023, France, Paris: Tennis: Grand Slam, French Open, doubles, mixed, quarterfinals. Kato/Pütz (Japan/Germany) – Stefani/Matos (Brazil). Tim Pütz (r) and Miyu Kato are in action. (Frank Molter/picture alliance via Getty Images)