SHANGHAI (AP) — Australian tennis player Marc Polmans has apologized for hitting a ball in the chair umpire’s face during the final round of Shanghai Masters qualifying, leading to his immediate dismissal. disqualified.
Polmans, ranked 140th, had a match point against Italian Stefano Napolitano in the second set on Tuesday when he missed a volley, then hit the ball angrily as it bounced off the net. His errant shot narrowly missed the ball player before hitting chair umpire Ben Anderson in the face.. Anderson was apparently not seriously injured.
“An update from me: The referee, Ben, has accepted my apology for my actions,” Polmans posted on X, the social networking site formerly known as Twitter. “He knows it wasn’t intentional, and I sent the ball over the frame in frustration in the heat of the moment.
“We are both moving forward. It was a high pressure situation and I should have reacted better.
The Australian joins Denis Shapovalov, Novak Djokovic and former British player Tim Henman among players disqualified from tournaments after hitting a match official or ball player with a ball.
Polmans would also have to forfeit all prize money and ranking points accumulated during the qualifying tournament.
