"Lost a lot of respect" - Tennis fans furious over 'despicable' behaviour from Marie Bouzkova & Sara Sorribes Tormo in French Open default controversy

Day 8 of the 2023 French Open had a hugely controversial moment as the pair of Aldila Sutjiadi and Miyu Kato was disqualified in the third round after Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo's protest to the chair umpire.

The women's doubles pair of Indonesia's Sutjiadi and Japan's Kato were defaulted from their third-round fixture against Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo after the Japanese tennis player accidentally hit a ball kid with a stray shot between games in the second set.

The chair umpire of the match initially gave her just a warning. However, the opposition pair went to the chair umpire to point out that the ball kid was visibly upset and crying. As a result, the supervisor was called to look into the matter.

The umpire also got off his chair to check on the ball kid, and he was seen consoling her while she was sobbing. The team of Aldila Sutjiadi and Miyu Kato was subsequently defaulted from the match by the supervisor, in accordance with the rules of the game.

However, tennis fans aren't happy with how things concluded on Court 14. Numerous fans took to social media to react to the news, and a majority of them were critical of Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo.

"This is so nasty from them, it was a clearly accident. Kati and Sutjiadi are doubles player, their incomes mainly grand-slam doubles matches. My blood boiled, they are so annoying," one user wrote.

Another fan claimed that they lost a lot of respect for Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo. Moreover, fans also recalled the 2020 US Open, where Novak Djokovic was disqualified after he accidentally hit a line judge.

"Lost a lot of respect for Bouzkova and SST. All for the consistent application of the rules. (Jenson and Kyrgios got away with it, Novak and Kato didn't. Different situations. But make a rule and enforce it.) But, to leverage a child's tears to get a default win is... not great," a fan tweeted.

Here are a few more reactions from the fans.

"You’ve hit a ball, and it’s hit someone, and they’re injured" - What the supervisor told Miyu Kato after French Open default

2017 French Open - Day Fifteen

Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo raised an objection about the incident after the chair umpire gave Miyu Kato a warning. The supervisor then came to the court to have a word with the Japanese.

"You’ve hit a ball, and it’s hit someone, and they’re injured. You are responsible for that action. Even if it is an accident, you are still responsible for that action," the supervisor told Kato.

After coming up short in the first set in a tie-break, Sutjiadi and Kato were leading 3-1 in the second set.

The decision of Sutjiadi and Kato's disqualification was met with scorn and boos from the audience. Moreover, the Japanese player was seen crying after the incident, with her partner having to console her.