Above: A French Open Tennis Controversy emerges during live play. In this photo, Miyu Kato (right) returns a shot on Sunday in French Open action. Kato and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi (left) were disqualified after Kato hit a ball girl during live doubles play. The disqualification sends their opponents to the quarterfinals. Photo Credit – Mark J. Terrill, AP.
A major error creates a French Open Controversy at the Roland Garros Tennis Stadium. On Sunday, a ball girl was hit in live play during the Round of 16 at the French Open.
Doubles play continues on at the event with excitement, but one team will not be continuing on after their most recent action. The doubles team of Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi were disqualified after hitting a ball girl in the second set playing against Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzkova.
Details of French Open Controversy
According to CNN, the infraction occurred when Kato and Sutjiadi were leading 3-1 in set 2. As the article notes, “Chair umpire Alexandre Juge issued a code violation before grand slam supervisor Wayne McKewen and tournament referee Remy Azemar appeared on court 14. After discussions between the officials and the players, it was announced Kato and Sutjiadi had been defaulted.”
The crowd did not take the news too well, serenading the officials with a major chorus of boos. Replay information put the hit by Kato as unintentional, but it still was a violation of the rule book for grand slam tournaments. However, this is not the first occurrence of an unfortunate error. Novak Djokovic fell victim of a similar fate in the 2020 US Open.
Due to the default, both Kato and Sutjiadi will lose all of their ranking points and prize money they have earned at the French Open. As the rule book notes: “In all cases of default, the decision of the referee in consultation with the grand slam chief of supervisors shall be final and unappealable.”
It’s a difficult slope, but that is how the rules go. And it’s a painful end to a successful run for Kato and Sutjiadi. Because of the loss, all points and money are deducted. The pair could have become champions if this incident did not occur.
