Shocking moment tennis star 'humiliates' ball boy in tantrum
For the second time in as many months, a tennis player has come under fire for shocking treatment of a ball boy.
Women’s World No.12 Aryna Sabalenka has been forced to apologise for an on-court tantrum in which she shook an empty bottle in the direction of a ball boy before tossing it on the floor.
The big-hitting Belarusian faced criticism after footage of the episode during her quarter-final defeat to Wang Qiang at the China Open in early October was shared widely on social media.
But following a winning start at the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, the 20-year-old vowed to “never do it again”.
“Well, I’m so sorry,” she said at her post-match press conference after beating Ashleigh Barty 6-4, 6-4.
“It was emotional and I was losing my mind and after that I saw it on Twitter and I was just like ‘Oh my god, what did you mean?’.
“I didn’t even remember this, and I was just like ‘Wow, I’m sorry for this guy’.”
Fans immediately criticised Sabalenka for ‘humiliating’ the boy.
The tennis player Sabalenka humiliates another ballboy after Verdasco's scandal .. I hope that the Feminists recriminate him pic.twitter.com/lRsoYS6aZZ
— Non StOp (@xurde0o) October 6, 2018
Just because other players are rude and obnoxious to the ball kids doesn’t make it okay. Verdasco should’ve been sanctioned for how he treated that ballboy, and hopefully Sabalenka will take the criticism constructively rather than be defensive about it.
— Chewy Yorkie (@ChewyYorkie) October 5, 2018
Anne Keothavong, Britain’s Fed Cup captain, tweeted: “I don’t care how good a tennis player you are but this type of behaviour needs to STOP.”
I don’t care how good a tennis player you are but this type of behaviour needs to STOP 😡😡😡 https://t.co/zLUHDt1gFN
— Anne Keothavong (@annekeothavong) October 5, 2018
An apologetic Sabalenka said, “It was bad of me and now I will never do it again, and I will try and be nice with the ball boys, even if they’re sometimes so slow!
“They’re just small kids, and you can’t do anything to them. Yeah, I’m so sorry for that guy and hopefully he’s not p*ssed with me.”
Second time in recent weeks
The controversy came ahead of a similar incident in which Spain’s Fernando Verdasco ranted at a ball boy for not bringing his sweaty towel quickly enough during a semi-final defeat by Yoshihito Nishioka at the Shenzhen Open.
Footage went viral on social media and saw Verdasco heavily criticised.
Judy Murray, the former British Fed Cup captain and mother of three-time Grand Slam winner Andy, tweeted: “What about a rule that makes players get their own towels?”
Fernando Verdasco berating a ball boy for being slow with the towel is disgusting. pic.twitter.com/HQBYOEOKzq
— Jeff Eisenband (@JeffEisenband) September 29, 2018
Federer’s fiery response
At the Shanghai Masters, Roger Federer said tennis sets the standard for many sports when it comes to respectful behaviour — and that must extend to the treatment of ball boys and girls.
“The ball kids are really important to us because they are also maybe the future of our game, like I was,” said the Swiss player, a ball boy before going on to become a 20-time Grand Slam champion.
“You don’t want to have them leaving with feeling, oh my God, I was not appreciated or I was not liked or it was a horrible thing.”
But Federer pointed out that emotions run high in the heat of a match and that tennis is more intense now than in the past.
In 2015 Novak Djokovic, now a 14-time Grand Slam winner, apologised to a Wimbledon ball girl after he screamed in her direction, leaving her looking shaken.
