15-year-old exits Wimbledon junior draw after racket-throwing incident ends first-round match
A 15-year-old women’s singles competitor at Wimbledon learned quite the lesson during play on Monday.
Tantrums will not be tolerated.
Ida Wobker, from Germany, was disqualified from the Wimbledon junior tournament after throwing her racket on the ground, which bounced into the stands. The decision was confirmed by the All England Club on Sunday.
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The incident occurred during the second set of the first round match between Wobker and her opponent on Saturday.
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Maria Valentina Pop, of Romania, had dominated the first set, 6-0, and with things deadlocked in the second set at 5-5, Wobker hit a backhanded shot out of bounds.
Showing clear frustration for the error, Wobker threw her racket, and though she might not have intended to do so, it flew into the stands. It’s unclear if it struck any spectators, but there were a bunch in the lower levels where the racket landed.
Wobker was quick to go over and apologize for her grave mistake, but officials paused the match and deliberated over the punishment.
In the end, Wobker was given a code violation for her behavior on the grass, and Pop was rewarded the automatic bid into the next round of the women’s junior singles tournament. She would later lose to Daniella Britton in that second round match.
Wobker addressed the incident on her Instagram Stories on Saturday night, writing that, “S— happens, you learn from it!,” according to The Sun.
The International Tennis Federation rules have clear direction on what to do when a racket is thrown in Wobker’s manner, stating that a player “shall not violently or with anger hit, kick or throw a racquet” during a tournament.
Officials stepped in, and as Wobker said, she’s going to learn from the situation.
It wasn’t her best effort on the court before the moment of frustration, committing 11 double faults during services and 44 unforced errors.
But, at just 15 years old, Wobker is ranked 24th in the International Tennis Federation’s junior world rankings, meaning she has a lot of career left in her to channel her frustration on the court.
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