French tennis player Nicolas Mahut has sparked controversy at the Queen’s Club Championships in the UK after accidentally hitting a ball kid in the face, forcing the girl to leave the court in tears.
The incident took place in the second-round match between Mahut and Swiss star Stan Wawrinka when the Frenchman hurled the ball after dropping a game on his own serve.
World No 191 Mahut, who was visibly infuriated, decided to practice his serve again by angrily firing the ball onto Wawrinka’s side.
The ball girl was unaware of Mahut’s impromptu practice effort as she was picking up balls on the court, and ended up taking the full force of the serve as the ball struck her face.
The girl burst into tears and was helped from the court by Wawrinka, while Mahut was issued with a code violation for unsportsmanlike behavior.
The hot-headed Frenchman did, however, go on to beat Wawrinka 3-6 7-5 7-6 to progress to the third round.