"Does somebody seriously need to suffer for changes to be made?"- Fans petition ATP after Jakub Mensik nearly hits ballboy with racquet throw at Miami

Jakub Mensik attracted the ire of the tennis community during his final qualifying-round match at the Miami Masters on Wednesday (March 20), after he almost hit a ballboy with his racquet in a fit of rage.

Mensik, one of the breakout stars of the 2024 ATP Tour season, was embroiled in a tough opening-set tiebreaker against Slovakia's Lukas Klein in the Miami Open qualifiers. Serving at 6-7 down, the Czech directed a big first serve down the T, which would've won him the point in most cases.

Klein, however, came up with a clutch return that clipped the sideline, allowing him to win the tiebreaker. The 18-year-old proceeded to throw his racquet in frustration towards his chair. Unfortunately, a ballboy was nearby when the racquet came flying through, just missing contact with him.

The World No. 70 eventually dropped the final qualifying-round match 6-7(6), 5-7 to exit the Miami Masters. Tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter) caught wind of the Czech youngster's action shortly afterward.

Many questioned the ATP for letting players go scot-free after several instances where their behavior endangered courtside personnel. In February, Andrey Rublev allegedly called a line judge a "f***ing moron" during his three-set semifinal match against Alexander Bublik at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

While the Russian was ultimately disqualified from the match for his actions, he didn't lose the prize money and the ATP points he had earned at the 500-level tournament.

One fan, in particular, felt that the men's governing body was waiting for the worst to happen with their inaction.

"This is... not funny wtf. Does ATP need to introduce obligatory anti anger management classes or what? Does somebody seriously need to suffer for changes to be made? Because as it is now - such behavior is way too much tolerated," the fan wrote.

Another expressed shock at Jakub Mensik not getting disqualified for his actions.

"Unreal he didn't get disqualified," the fan wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from social media:

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Jakub Mensik reached his maiden ATP Tour final earlier in 2024

Jakub Mensik hits a forehand at BNP Paribas Open 2024

Jakub Mensik has been making giant strides on the men's tour lately. Having turned pro in 2022, the Czech reached the third round at last year's US Open in his Major debut.

The teenager has carried his rich vein of form into 2024, winning eight of his 12 tour-level matches thus far. He beat former World No. 10 Denis Shapovalov in straight sets in his second-ever Grand Slam appearance at the Australian Open, before going out to ninth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz in five tough sets.

Mensik then reached his maiden ATP Tour final at the 2024 Qatar ExxonMobil Open in February, beating the likes of Andrey Rublev, Andy Murray and Gael Monfils along the way.

While Karen Khachanov put an end to the 18-year-old's giant-killing run in the championship match, Mensik's showing was enough to facilitate his debut in the top 100 rankings.

Earlier this week, Jakub Mensik achieved his career-high ranking of 70.