Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev hits groundsmen’s hat off with ball in French Open outburst

Staff ReportersThe West Australian
VideoRussian tennis player loses his mind with dangerous act.

Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev has been forced to apologise after an angry on-court outburst almost ended up with a groundsman getting a tennis ball to the face.

The world No.7 smashed the ball into the ground after losing the first set to South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo on his way to a 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory at the French Open.

The ball rebounded from the court and went sideways before narrowly missing a groundsman’s face as he swept the clay surface.

Rublev, 24, did not appear to notice the impact of his outburst immediately, instead focusing on smashing a water bottle on the floor.

The groundsman can be seen to pick his hat up and continue sweeping, with the crowd reacting in a shocked manner as they witnessed the strange occurance.

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Rublev was given a code violation and allowed to continue the match.

“I lost my mind for a moment, and of course I regret what I did. It’s unacceptable to hit the way the ball I hit it,” Rublev said.

“Better if I just hit the racquet on the seat, because the ball can affect someone.

“This is unprofessional from my side, and hopefully I will never do it again.”

Serbian star Novak Djokovic was famously disqualified from the 2020 US Open after hitting a line judge with a ball that was not in play.

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