Japanese tennis player Miyu Kato reaches the FINAL of the French Open mixed doubles… as she defeats her partner from the women’s doubles where she was disqualified for hitting a ball girl with a ball
Japanese tennis player Miyu Kato broke down in tears after reaching the French Open mixed double final on Wednesday – three days after she was disqualified from the women’s doubles for accidentally hitting a ball girl with a ball that left her in tears.
It was all smiles for Kato after the 28-year-old reached the final at Roland Garros – unlike after her win in the previous round.
Kato broke down in tears and had to be consoled by her German partner Tim Puetz after the victory which came a day after her disqualification in the women’s doubles.
This time though, she had a big smile on her face as she hugged her partner and shook hands with their beaten opponents which ironically included her partner from the women’s doubles Aldila Sutjiadi.
The pair saw off Matwe Middlekoop and Sutjiadi 7-5 6-0 during the morning session at Roland Garros.
Miyu Kato (right) advanced to the final of the mixed doubles- defeating a team which included her women’s doubles partner Aldila Sutjiadi (left)
During her women’s doubles match alongside Sutjiadi, Kato fired a cross-court shot towards the ball girl between points, striking her on the shoulder. With the young girl distressed, Kato was initially given a warning by the umpire.
However, a protest by opponents Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo led to the match being abandoned with Kato and her Indonesian partner Sutjiadi disqualified.
When the umpire Alexandre Juge confirmed the disqualification, Kato herself broke down in tears.
During the discussions, one official compared the incident to Novak Djokovic’s disqualification from the 2020 US Open after hitting a line judge in the throat with the ball.
‘If you hit someone and they’re injured, then you’re responsible for that action,’ the official said. ‘Even if you don’t mean it, you’re still responsible for that action.’
Czech Bouzkova and Spaniard Sorribes won the first set 7-6 (7-1) but were a break down at 3-1 to Kato and Sutjiadi in the second.
There were jeers from the crowd as the 16th seeds were disqualified with the pair applauded off the court. They will forfeit all prize money earned at Roland Garros and any ranking points gained.
Kato broke down in tears after reaching the mixed doubles semi-finals with Tim Puetz, a day after she was disqualified from the women’s double for hitting a ball girl with a ball
Kato (left) is given a hug by her German mixed doubles partner Puetz on Monday morning
It comes after a ball girl was left in tears at the French Open after being struck on the shoulder by a shot by Kato between points – leading to Kato and her partner being disqualified
The ball can be seen just to the left of the court flying towards the ball girl in the bottom left
The ball struck the ball girl (bottom left) as the players prepared themselves between points
Kato went over to console the youngster but to no avail as they were disqualified
Bouzkova explained their protest afterwards: ‘It’s difficult. The girl was crying for 15 minutes.
‘I think the warning first happened because he [the umpire] didn’t see she was crying and she was in that kind of pain.
‘We told him he should look more into because the girl was crying and the ball went directly at her, it wasn’t kind of a slower ball. We told them [Kato and Sutjiadi] it’s very unfortunate.’
According to the grand slam rule book, players ‘shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball within the precincts of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including warm-up).
‘In all cases of default, the decision of the referee in consultation with the grand slam chief of supervisors shall be final and unappealable.’