"So Much Sexism; Apparently boys don't cry" - Tennis fans left fuming as Miyu Kato reveals French Open's controversial reasoning behind her default

Tennis fans have expressed their shock after Japanese tennis player Miyu Kato made new revelations about the basis of her infamous default at the 2023 French Open.

Miyu Kato and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi were disqualified from the women's doubles in the third round. The decision was made after Kato inadvertently struck a ball girl in the neck with a ball that wasn’t in play. At the time, the tennis world unanimously protested against the authorities for the seemingly unfair decision.

Last week, Kato revealed that her appeal to restore her ranking points and prize money was rejected as well, and she was instead slapped with a fine.

She has now shared more details about the series of events that led to her disqualification. The 28-year-old revealed in an interview with CLAY that the authorities cited the ball kid’s gender and the duration she cried for as the reasons for their decision.

"The umpire and the supervisor talked to me afterward and said, 'If the ballkid was a boy, it would have been ok,'" Miyu Kato said.

"They also explained to me that since the girl cried for more than 15 minutes they had to make a decision because if she had stopped after five minutes, everything would have been alright; or if the ball had hit her legs or arms, everything would have been okay. But no, because it was in the neck it was different," she added.

Tennis fans were left fuming after the rationale came to light, and bashed the French Open authorities for the "sexist" and "subjective" take on the situation. Many said that the revelation had left them speechless.

“I'm not often utterly speechless but on this occasion I am utterly speechless,” one fan wrote.

“And these are full grown adults in charge of interpreting and applying the rules. Unreal decision,” another tweeted.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

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"It is what it is" – What French Open director Amelie Mauresmo said about Japanese tennis player Miyu Kato's disqualification

Amelie Mauresmo at the 2023 French Open

French Open director Amelie Mauresmo has defended the tournament’s decision to default Miyu Kato, despite the public outrage.

Days after the incident, the former player and two-time Slam winner stated that the authorities had to make a quick but informed decision after assessing the situation.

“The decision has been made by the tour supervisor and the referee," Mauresmo said. "Without seeing the video, you come to the court. You have to make a judgment based on something that you didn't see, based on the fact that someone is reporting to you."

She also admitted that the ball girl’s reaction to the incident was taken into consideration while making the decision.

“When you see a ball girl cry for that long, I guess that's when you have to make some kind of decision," she said. "It's just facts. I'm not going to comment on whether it's good or bad. It is what it is."

While Miyu Kato was defaulted from the women’s double category, she was allowed to contest the mixed doubles event, where she emerged victorious and lifted her maiden Grand Slam title.

Mauresmo suggested that the tournament could have sanctioned the player entirely, but refrained from doing so.

“It was also the decision of the tournament to keep her in the mixed doubles, which I think was also something positive at least for her,” she said.