Australian tennis player Mark Polmans has apologized for hitting the ball in the face of the chair umpire during the final round of the Masters’ qualifying tournament in Shanghai, which led to his immediate disqualification.
Marc Polmans Disqualified from Shanghai Masters for Striking Umpire with Tennis Ball#MarcPolmans #ShanghaiMasters #MarcPolmansDisqualified #AustralianTennisPlayer pic.twitter.com/uFyntQOJ3u
— Nimrah Khatoon (@KashifNimrah) October 4, 2023
Polmans, ranked 140th in the ATP world rankings, was on match point against Italian opponent Stefano Napolitano in the second set on Tuesday when he missed a volley and then struck the ball out of frustration as it bounced off the net. His hit narrowly missed one of the ball boys before ultimately hitting chair umpire Ben Anderson in the face. Fortunately, the referee escaped any injuries
He sayed:
“The umpire has accepted my apologies for my actions. He knows it was unintentional and I hit the ball in a moment of disappointment. Both of us are moving forward. It was a tense situation and I should have reacted better,” wrote the tennis player on social media.”
The Australian joins Denis Shapovalov, Novak Djokovic, and Tim Henman, who were disqualified from tournaments after hitting the ball at the match umpire or one of the ball kids. Polmans will also lose the prize money and ranking points he earned during the qualifying rounds.