During her second-round match on Thursday, Romanian tennis player Irina-Camelia Begu spiked her racket in frustration and accidentally bounced it into the stands, causing a child to burst into tears. That child was not hit, but simply scared of what just happened.
Begu was down 2–0 in the third set when she walked over to her bench, clearly upset with her play, and threw the racket to the ground when it bounced up near the child. In the aftermath, an umpire checked on the child while a supervisor came onto the court and handed Begu a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Tournament referee Remy Azemar said the equipment “brushed a young spectator,” who “turned out to be OK.”
On Friday, Irina-Camelia Begu was fined $10,000 by the French Tennis Federation.
The 31-year-old Romanian player who is ranked 63rd apologized for the incident and took pictures with the child after the match.
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Begu is off to the Third Round of the French Open as she will face Leolia Jeanjean in the third round with hopes of reaching the fourth for the first time since 2016.
