Miami – US tennis pro Jenson Brooksby has endangered a ball boy with a racket throw and caused another incident in the debate about player behaviour.
The 21-year-old hurled his racket backwards at the Miami tournament after an error in the third set against Argentina’s Federico Coria, forcing the ball boy to jump to the side and hitting him slightly.
Brooksby was not disqualified but was awarded a point penalty and went on to win the first-round match 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. “I’m really sorry for my actions today. I will learn from it and continue to grow on and off the court,” Brooksby wrote on Instagram after the match.
Another incident at the tournament was caused by Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. In a 5-7, 6-7 loss to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, the 20-year-old smashed a ball full force above head height against the slope of the spectator stand behind his baseline after losing a point. Musetti got away without punishment.
Zverev and Kyrgios also in focus
Recently, several cases of prominent tennis professionals getting out of hand had caused a stir. At the tournament in Acapulco a month ago, Olympic champion Alexander Zverev hit the umpire’s chair several times with his racket after losing the doubles match. He was disqualified and given an eight-week suspended ban in addition to a fine.
The Australian Nick Kyrgios had last thrown his racket so violently on the ground after a defeat against Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells that it flew from there in a high arc across the court. A ball boy ducked away because he was afraid of being hit. Kyrgios denied any intent, saying the racket had bounced away awkwardly after impact.