American tennis player Jenson Brooksby got away with a point penalty after accidentally hitting a ballkid with his racquet during the Miami Masters.
Brooksby threw his racquet twice during his 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Argentina’s Federico Coria on Thursday.
ALSO READ: Injury to force Rafael Nadal out for few weeks
On the second occasion, Brooksby slammed his racquet down after losing a point. It flew towards the backboards, bouncing twice before hitting a ballkid in the legs.
Gets away with it. #Brooksby pic.twitter.com/QGRFA5Uy5w
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) March 24, 2022
Despite his opponent arguing that that should be an automatic disqualification, Brooksby was only penalised a point.
“I am truly sorry for my actions out there today,” Brooksby wrote on Instagram.
Sharpen your backhand with our FREE guide
“I will learn from this and continue to grow on and off court. A lot has been said about my actions on court today. I went on live TV and apologised to all and apologised via the media.
“I also did meet with the person involved. He took me aside and we had a good chat and I appreciate him doing that. shouldn’t have happened and I will do my best to learn from this.”
How to throw a racket/hit a ball in anger without getting in trouble ……. pic.twitter.com/NTz2ff55Rw
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) March 25, 2022
Disturbing trend
It was the latest incident in the growing list of violent outbursts in men’s tennis.
On the same day that Brooksby hit the ballkid, Australia’s Jordan Thompson belted a ball off his racquet that left a ball girl on the side of the court ducking for cover.
ALSO READ: Ashleigh Barty announces shock retirement
Last month, Alexander Zverev had struck the umpire’s chair repeatedly with his racquet and almost caught him on the foot.
The World No 3 was defaulted from the event and fined but was only handed a suspended ban.
ALSO READ: Ukraine star Alexandr Dolgopolov slams ATP
Last week, Nick Kyrgios apologised for nearly hitting a ball boy after smashing his racquet on the ground at Indian Wells.
Former doubles player and commentator Patrick McEnroe asked for the ATP to take stringent action against its misbehaving stars.
ALSO READ: Boris Becker goes on trial in bankruptcy case
Doubles great and commentator Patrick McEnroe said on Twitter: “Seriously what is it going to take … drawing blood … to properly punish a tennis player. This is absolutely absurd.”
‘Clearly a default’
Fans and pundits fumed over the fact that Brooksby was not disqualified from the tournament. The ATP has also not yet fined him for the incident.
ALSO READ: Nick Kyrgios does down kicking and screaming to Rafael Nadal
Former World No. 1 and Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki said about Brooksby on the Tennis Channel: “This definitely should be a disqualification.”
Australian tennis coach Craig O’Shannessy added: “That’s a default. That’s absolutely a default. That’s positively a default. That’s clearly a default. I don’t know what else to say.”
