Player leans on ball kid during Australian Open tennis, says ‘It’s too hard’

The ball kid snatched the ball during the in-play, leading to a decision protest.

Kostuk having a hard time leaning on Volkid (right)

With the Australian Open, the first major tennis tournament of the season, entering its second week, Ball Kids have often been the center of attention in this year’s games.

In a tennis game, a ball kid is a game manager who helps carry and deliver the ball during the game and is also called a ball boy or ball person.

During the women’s singles third round match between Marta Kostuk (37th, Ukraine) and Elina Avanesian (74th, Russia) held in Melbourne, Australia on the 19th, there was a scene where the player, who had finished a long rally, leaned on the ball kid to catch his breath. .

After more than 10 rallies, Kostuk ran for a long time to catch a drop shot that fell in front of Abanesian’s net. After successfully scoring, the TV broadcast camera caught him hugging the ball kid next to him and struggling.

Fans in the stands were delighted with the rare scene, and the local TV broadcast team could not hold back their laughter.

The ball boy’s embarrassment at the sudden hug even appeared in a major foreign press photo.

In the end, Kostuk, who came from behind to win the match 2-1 (2-6 6-4 6-4), advanced to the quarterfinals of a major singles match for the first time in his career.

The ball kid in this game ultimately had a positive effect on Kostuk, but there were also two cases where it interfered with the progress of the game.

Karen Khachanov

During the men’s singles second round match between Karen Khachanov (15th, Russia) and Alexander Kovacevich (101st, USA), a ball kid snatched the ball that was in play.

During the second set, Kovacevic had difficulty receiving Khachanov’s strong serve, and although the ball crossed the net, it looked like it would fall over the line.

However, the ball kid who was standing quickly caught the ball before it hit the court floor.

If the ball kid had not caught the ball, Khachanov would have scored, but the referee ordered ‘to re-introduce the serve according to the regulations.’

Khachanov then protested to the referee, asking, “Where is the rule like that?”, and the situation ended with Kovacevich, the opposing player, giving in and saying, “I will recognize Khachanov’s score.”

In the game, Kovacevic lost 1-3 (4-6 3-6 6-4 3-6), but received applause from fans for his sportsmanship.

A similar scene occurred in the men’s doubles match.

During the second set of the men’s doubles second round match between Linky Hijikata and Jason Kubler (Australia) and Dominique Köpper and Jannick Hanfmann (Germany), Volkid ran into the court.

The ball kid thought the game was stopped, entered the court to give the ball, and then headed outside, but the game was eventually stopped, and the play was invalidated. 19가이드03