5 times animals found their way onto the tennis court

#4 Black cats – bad luck?

Maybe not for Roberta Vinci! The Italian former top 10 player was playing at the WTA Qatar Open in 2016, with both Vinci and her rival, Çala Büyükakçay of Turkey, looking to book a spot in the quarter-finals.

With Vinci on the cusp of taking the first set at 6-5 and looking to break her rival’s serve, the two found a surprise visitor playing spoilsport to their match. A black cat, that had been sniffing around the stands, walked into the court area – and right next to the net. It remained there for a short while as ball boys attempted to chase it away – but the wily kitten sauntered through their legs before walking off – leaving an annoyed Roberta Vinci in its wake.