Australian Open ball girl left terrified by Russian star's angry outburst
Pavel Vyacheslavovich Kotov lashed out during his Australian Open win which left a young ball girl terrified.
The Russian had to dig deep to see off Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, coming back from two sets down to ensure he advanced to the next round. At one point in the contest Kotov's frustration boiled over and he picked up a ball before smacking it against a wall.
It was the same wall that a young girl was standing up against and she clearly recoiled, fearing the ball may have hit her. Had she been hit by the ball then Kotov would've been disqualified
Grand Slam rules state: “Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball within the precincts of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including warm-up).”
Novak Djokovic was infamously disqualified from the US Open back in 2020 with the Grand Slam being played behind closed doors. The Serbian hit a ball back in the direction of a line official and it hit her in the throat, ending his hopes of success in New York immediately.
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Kotov's victory over Rinderknech came on Court No.6 at Melbourne Park, which has seen a new bar erected as tennis continues to try and improve fan experience and attract new audiences. The Frenchman though was not impressed by the atmosphere.
He likened it to playing in a nightclub with supporters jeering him every time he missed with a first serve. He said: "The bench of just three or four guys next to the court, drinking alcohol probably for quite a long time, and just shouting at me every time I was missing a first serve, especially the game I got broken as well, the whole fifth set.
"It doesn't matter about this, I'm used to it, I'm fine. I should have been able to handle it. But I don't think it was really classy."
The Frenchman also added: "I mean, we're playing in a nightclub! That's okay. I thought it was only in the US Open we could play in a nightclub. It happened today for four (hours) – I don't even know how long we played."
Australian great Pat Cash had criticised the change in the atmosphere last week but compatriot Nick Kyrgios claimed: "We need the crowds to feel part of the sport. We need entertainment. We need people having beers and the players loving it. We need human interaction. We're human, not robots. We need it to be like that."
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