The tennis world has reacted with anger and confusion after a player was not defaulted, and went on to win her French Open match, despite bouncing her racquet into the crowd and making a child cry.
Romanian world No.56 Irina-Camelia Begu reacted in frustration during her three-set win over No.30 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, when she was trailing 0-2 in the deciding set.
Walking over towards her bench mid-game, Begu threw her racquet into the clay surface and watched as it bounced on its edge high into the air, crashing into the first few rows of courtside seating.
Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments including Every Finals Match. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
While the racquet did not hit anyone it came close to a young child, who cried because he was scared, according to observers.
The match was stopped and the supervisor was called but surprisingly Begu was not defaulted, instead only given a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“Alexandrova pissed, crowd booing,” reported Portuguese journalist Jose Morgado.
“Ekaterina very upset, throws a ball outside the court. ‘So I can do that too’.
“Gets a code violation (like Begu), crowd boos. Dramatic scenes.”
Court-side photographer Ella Ling, who was covering the match, tweeted: “Absolutely beggars belief how she was allowed to continue playing. Horrible.”
Not only was Begu allowed to continue, but she went on to win the match 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4.
“Folks, why are we still allowing this?” the New York Times’ Ben Rothenberg tweeted.
“Begu didn’t throw the racquet especially hard but the consequences of her action shouldn’t be shrugged off by officials.”
Fans of Novak Djokovic on social media were quick to question why Begu wasn’t defaulted based on the Serbian being thrown out of the US Open a couple of years ago of accidentally hitting a ball towards a lineswoman in anger – though she was struck in the throat, not missed.
Begu’s win set up a third-round clash with French world No.227 Leolia Jeanjean, who upset last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.
Djokovic defeats former coach’s player | 01:05
