Romanian tennis player Irina-Camelia Begu has apologized for throwing her racquet at the French Open.
Begu had thrown her racket on the ground at the beginning of the third set in her third round win against the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrowa. From there it flew in a high arc onto the small grandstand of Court 13 and easily hit a child sitting there.
“It was an awkward moment for me, so I don’t want to say too much about it. I just want to apologize,” said Begu. After the game, she posed for a photo with the family. “In my entire career, nothing like this has happened to me, so I can only say sorry.”
Begu received a warning but was not disqualified. Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic was excluded from the US Open 2020 after accidentally hitting a linesman with a ball.
“The Grand Slam Supervisor spoke to the parents. The parents confirmed that the child is fine and not injured,” tournament referee Remy Azemar explained the decision in a statement.