Irina-Camelia Begu fined $10,000 for tennis racket toss at French Open
Irina-Camelia Begu on Friday was fined $10,000 by the French Tennis Federation after she threw her racket and it bounced off the clay and into the stands during a match at the French Open on Thursday.
Begu, a 31-year-old Romanian player who is ranked 63rd, was cited for unsportsmanlike conduct during the third set of her victory against 30th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in the second round at Court 13.
After dropping a point, Begu walked to the sideline and chucked her racket, which flew behind chair umpire Anis Ressaissi's seat, landing among spectators sitting courtside. There were gasps from fans, and a child could be heard crying.
Tournament referee Remy Azemar said the equipment "brushed a young spectator,'' who "turned out to be OK.'' Begu apologized for the incident and took pictures with the child after the match.
Alexandrova, who purposely hit a tennis ball over the stands during the next changeover in protest of Begu not being given a stiffer penalty, ended up losing the match and called for a change in the rules of tennis to discourage this from happening again.
"So I can do that too?" Alexandrova shouted at the umpire after hitting the ball. She, too, was given a code violation.
Begu will face France's Leolia Jeanjean in the third round Saturday at Roland Garros.
ESPN's Tom Hamilton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related Stories
ABC News Live