"The umpire told me 'If the ball kid was a boy, it would have been ok'" - Miyu Kato lifts curtain on French Open default controversy
Japanese tennis player Miyu Kato talked about what happened as she was getting defaulted from the 2023 French Open.
Miyu Kato was defaulted from the doubles competition with her partner Aldila Sutjiadi after she inadvertently hit a ball kid in the neck after a point was over.
Their opponents, Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo and the Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova complained to the chair umpire after no bigger punishment was initially given to Kato.
The Japanese then entered a discussion with the umpire and the supervisor and was soon defaulted from the match, forcing her to lose all her points and prize money won.
A few weeks later, Kato explained what happened after the supervisor came to the court.
"I just passed the ball to the ballkids for my opponents to serve," Miyu Kato explained in an interview with CLAY.
"The umpire and the supervisor talked to me afterward and said, ‘If the ballkid was a boy, it would have been ok'" she added.
According to the Japanese, the problem escalated because, apparently, the ball kid cried for too long.
"They also explained to me that since the girl cried for more than 15 minutes they had to make a decision because if she had stopped after five minutes, everything would have been alright; or if the ball had hit her legs or arms, everything would have been okay. But no, because it was in the neck it was different," Kato said.
The 28-year-old burst into tears on the shoulders of her Indonesian teammate Aldila Sutjiadi after the decision had been made.
"My mind was very bad. After the disqualification I seriously thought about going home to Japan," she said.
"Disqualification of Miyu Kato was unreasonably disproportionate and unfair" - PTPA
The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), an association founded by Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil, issued a statement regarding the default of Miyu Kato and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi.
The PTPA criticized the French Open organization for its decision, calling it "disproportionate and unfair."
"We understand that the top priority is to ensure the well-being of the ball boys, but the disqualification of Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi was unreasonably disproportionate and unfair," the PTPA said in a statement.
"It is clear that the incident was accidental and non-aggressive," the statement added.
Kato ended up having her fairytale moment at the French Open after all. She managed to win the mixed doubles competition with her German partner Tim Puetz.
Kato and Puetz came from behind to beat Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus 4-6 6-4, 10-6, in the final.