Tennis player Marc Polmans apologizes for hitting ball at umpire
Australian tennis player Marc Polmans has said that he apologized to a chair umpire after hitting a ball in his face during a qualifying match at the Shanghai Masters.
Polmans was leading Italy’s Stefano Napolitano 7-6 6-6 and had a match point in the tie break when he accidentally hit a ball at umpire Ben Anderson after netting a backhand volley.
The world No. 140 was disqualified from Tuesday’s match, where a victory would have earned him a spot in the main draw.
“The umpire, Ben, has accepted my apology for my actions – he knows it was unintentional and I shanked the ball on the frame in frustration in the heat of the moment,” Polmans said on X, formerly Twitter.
“We both move on. It was a high pressure situation and I should have reacted better.”
Reuters reported that Polman will lose all the rankings points and prize money that he gained from the tournament but will face no further punishment from the ATP Tour.
Six years ago, Denis Shapovalov apologized and was fined $7,000 for inadvertently hitting a chair umpire with a ball during a Davis Cup match, while Novak Djokovic was defaulted from the 2020 US Open when he accidentally struck a line judge with a ball.
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