Last Updated on 06/07/2023 by てんしょく飯
The ripple effect of Miyu Kato’s (28, Xymax) disqualification from the third round of the women’s doubles tournament at the French Open due to a direct hit to the ball girl has not subsided.
Kato, who forfeited her prize money and points, filed a lawsuit on June 6 demanding that the disqualification be rescinded.
On the same day, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) issued a statement saying, “The disqualification was unjust and unfair.
Her mixed doubles partner also defended Kato, saying, “There was no malice or intention to hit her. On the other hand, Marie Bouzkova (24, Czech Republic) and Sara Sorribes Tormo (26, Spain), who have been bashed for claiming disqualification and have been reported to be talking internally, also complained, “It’s hard to be accused of doing nothing wrong,” and it seems the row is not yet settled.
The Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) declared that the forfeiture of 43,000 euros (approximately 6.4 million yen) in prize money was also “unjustified.
There has been a new development in the worldwide “firestorm” over Kato’s disqualification for hitting a ball to a ball girl and making her cry. Kato claims that he did not intend to hit the ball, and is suing to have the disqualification rescinded and forfeited prize money of 43,000 euros (about 6.4 million yen, half for each player) and 110 points returned.
The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), a “players’ association” founded by Novak Djokovic (Serbia) to defend the position of players, issued a statement titled “Response of the Professional Tennis Players Association to the disqualification of Miyu Kato at the French Open. The PTPA is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all those involved in the sport, especially ball girls and ball boys, as its top priority.
However, the decision to disqualify Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi was unjust and unfair.
It is clear that the incident was accidental and not at all offensive.” This should not have led to a code violation and subsequent disqualification. Players need to have access to fair problem-solving procedures when their rights are violated, and the PTPA is listening to them and advocating for an appropriate response to their problem. It means that the prize money and ranking points of Miyu and Aldila need to be restored at the very least. Severe penalties for unintentional conduct undermine the integrity of the sport and harm the players’ careers. Disciplinary action must be in line with fairness, soundness, and legitimacy,” he insisted. He revealed that he is already in discussions with the French Tennis Federation and the Grand Slam Committee.
Foreign media are also sympathetic to Kato, who has been disqualified.
Navratilova, the reigning queen of the tennis world, also took a swipe at the Bouzkova-Sorribes Tormo pair. The U.S. media outlet Sportskeeda reported, “Navratilova, the former world No. 1, also criticized the ridiculous interpretation of the rules. I am disappointed that Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo’s attitude is shameful,” the report said. Navratilova strongly criticized on social networking sites, saying, “This is a ridiculous interpretation of the rules and it is shameful to claim disqualification of the opponent.
CNN, under the headline “Tennis Star Kato Tears Up in Struggle to Answer Questions About Controversial Disqualification,” reported on the press conference after she reached the semifinals of the mixed doubles tournament in which she was paired with Tim Puetz (35, Germany).
It reported, “A day after receiving a controversial disqualification for maliciously hitting a ball girl, an emotional Kato struggled to answer questions about the incident.”
The article noted, “After winning the mixed doubles quarterfinals, Kato burst into tears on court and at the press conference that followed, she became emotional and left the press conference room once to compose herself before answering questions. Kato answered briefly in Japanese and said, “It is difficult to speak in English this time.
He then reported the voice of her mixed doubles partner, Puetz.
First and foremost, we are all happy, including Miyu, that she was okay, because we are certain that the ball hit the ball girl. Miyu feels terrible about what happened. It was unfortunate for everyone, especially her and the ball girl.”
Puetz then backed up Kato, saying, “I know she hit the ball to the ball girl, but she didn’t mean to.
I know she hit the ball to the ball girl, but she didn’t mean to. I don’t think it was done out of anger. Everyone would have seen that video. There was absolutely no malice in what she did. That said, the ball did hit the ball girl. But probably no one (in the refereeing team) even saw the situation. Two supervisors came in. They saw the ball hit the ball girl, who was crying. It was very difficult to make a decision at that moment.
Meanwhile, the inside story of how Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo, who have been the target of intense bashing for their “lack of sportsmanship” after the initial warning was changed to a disqualification due to their persistent protests, was also revealed.
The New York Post reported, quoting a Reuters report, “Referee Alexandre Juge initially gave Kato a warning after the ball girl was hit with the ball. However, he was pressured by Buzkova and Sorribes Tormo, who claimed that this was a disqualification due to a violation of the rules,” the report said, referring to the exchange that took place.
Initially, the Juge referee responded to the pair’s loud protests over the net, “No, no. Let me explain. （There was no intention (to intentionally hit Kato). (The ball girl) was not injured. Sorribes Tormo then asked, “Didn’t she have bad intentions? （She (the ball girl) is crying,” he insisted.
Bouzkova also complained, “She’s bleeding,” prompting the referee to get out of his seat to check on the ball girl’s situation. The tournament supervisor then showed up and disqualified the Kato pair.
The Buzkova-Sorribes Tormo pair received a string of accusations from tennis officials and fans, but Buzkova explained to the local Czech media that it was not our fault, and Sorribes Tormo responded at a press conference after losing in the third singles round. According to several media outlets, including France’s L’Equipe, he replied.
“It’s hard for me and Marie [Bouzkova] to see what people are blaming us for. We just explained to the referee what happened. The ball girl was crying, so I said, “What happened?” and “The ball hit her directly.” The referee didn’t see it, so it was the supervisor’s decision (to disqualify her). We did nothing.”
According to the local Spanish newspaper As, Sorribes Tormo’s Instagram was also flooded with nearly 7,000 criticisms.
Sorribes Tormo is disheartened and told the paper, “I haven’t seen the messages. It’s hard to be accused of doing nothing wrong,” he replied, “People who actually watched the match don’t really think that’s what it is (the critical comments on the Instagram). I don’t think people who post from home come to the courts to watch. Going to the court today was a little scary, but there was no criticism (from the crowd). Anyone who saw the match knows that the ball is actually twice as hard as it looks on video and that there was no attitude (laughing, etc.) that could be criticized by us,” she complained.
Note that Buzkova and Sorribes Tormo lost to Nicole Melichar (USA) and Ellen Perez (Australia) in the quarterfinals in straight sets, 5-7, 3-6.
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