Tim Henman was reminded of his own disqualification at Wimbledon while discussing Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi being defaulted from women’s doubles tournament at the French Open on Sunday.
The British tennis great, who was disqualified from the men’s doubles at Wimbledon in 1995 for inadvertently hitting a ball girl, weighed in on the situation at Roland Garros, where Japan’s Kato launched a tennis ball across the court and accidentally hit a ball girl.
“Speaking from experience, I got disqualified at Wimbledon,” Henman said on Eurosport. “I sent [Grand Slam supervisor] Wayne McKewen a message and 29 years in between, I said ‘wow, you were the umpire then, and you’re the supervisor today, still disqualifying people from Grand Slams for hitting ball kids!’
“It’s one of those where you have to take responsibility when you are hitting the ball around the court, even passing it to the other end. She’s just flicking the backhand, and it’s careless.
“There’s no malicious intent, but when she’s hit the ball, it’s then gone into the ball girl, and she was very upset and distressed by that. It puts the umpire, supervisor and referee in a difficult position.”
A ball girl at the French Open was hit by a ball accidentally by Japan’s Miyu Kato, who was disqualified from a third-round match, along with her partner Aldila Sutjiadi on June 4, 2023. Twitter
Japan Miyu Kato and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia were disqualified from a third-round match at the French Open after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl with a tennis ball on June 4, 2023. TwitterPer tennis rules, if a ball person is hit during a match and is hurt, the player or team is disqualified.
After being struck, the ball girl was in tears and appeared visibly distressed with her hand on her chest.
Umpire Alexandre Juge originally gave Kato a warning, but eventually disqualified her and Indonesia’s Sutjiadi after their opponents — Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova and Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo — asked for the pair to be defaulted due to the rule-breaking.
Japan Miyu Kato and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia were disqualified from a third-round match at the French Open after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl with a tennis ball on June 4, 2023. Twitter“No, no, let me explain to you. [Kato] didn’t do it on purpose. [The ball girl] didn’t get injured,” Juge said, according to Reuters, after the partners yelled from across the net.
“She didn’t do it on purpose? She’s crying,” Sorribes Tormo said.
“And she has blood,” Bouzkova claimed, which prompted the umpire to exit his chair and check on the ball girl.
Japan Miyu Kato and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia were disqualified from a third-round match at the French Open after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl with a tennis ball on June 4, 2023. TwitterKato was also seen approaching the ball girl on the court, where they shared a brief exchange.
Kato and Sutjiadi were leading in the second set of their third-round match against Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo when the incident occurred on Court 14.
Tournament referee Remy Azemar and Grand Slam supervisor Wayne McEwen ultimately ruled on the disqualification of Kato and Sutjiadi and an end to the match.
“It’s just a bad situation for everyone,” Bouzkova said. “But it’s kind of something that, I guess, is taken by the rules, as it is, even though it’s very unfortunate for them. … At the end of the day, it was the referee’s decision.”
Tim Henman on the practice courts during day five of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon on July 1, 2022. PA Images via Getty ImagesBouzkova added she did not see the ball hit the ball girl, but “she was crying for like 15 minutes.”
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios — who withdrew from the French Open due to the same knee injury that ruled him out of the Australian Open in January — also weighed in on the situation.
“All around the world, whether it be having people chanting your name, idolizing you, getting booed at, it’s always going to be a factor in sport,” Kyrgios wrote on Twitter. “Why are we having so many people complain about it?
“Also, it’s not about the intent, if you a hit a ball at a kid it’s a default,” he concluded, adding a sleeping emoji.
The incident was also reminiscent of when Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open in 2020 after he accidentally struck a line judge by hitting a ball away between points.
Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo advance to the fourth round to face Australia’s Ellen Perez and USA’s Nicole Melichar-Martinez.
