cnn
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A day after being controversially disqualified from the French Open for inadvertently hitting a ball boy with a ball, an emotional Miyu Kato struggled to answer questions about the incident.
Kato and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi were excluded from the doubles event on Sunday after the Japanese player hit a ball girl who had harmlessly hit the ball into the back of the court after a point.
Kato, who was seen crying on court following her disqualification, returned to action on Monday and reached the mixed doubles semi-finals after winning in straight sets alongside fellow German Tim Puetz.
It has been widely reported that Kato was crying on court after winning the quarterfinals and was visibly emotional at the press conference afterwards, momentarily leaving the room to compose herself before a question was answered.
“I think first and foremost, everyone, including Miyu, is happy that the ball girl is okay because she obviously got hit,” Puetz told reporters after returning to the room with Kato.
“Miyu feels very bad about what happened. “This was very unfortunate for everyone, especially her and the girl.”
Kato tearfully gave a very brief response in Japanese, saying that it was difficult for him to speak English at the time.
While Puetz understood why officials made the decision, he said there was clearly no intent to hurt the ball girl.
“I understand that he hit the ball girl. It was not intentional. “I don’t think it was out of anger,” she added.
“I think everyone saw the photos. There was nothing malicious what he did. However, she hit the ball girl.
“Then two supervisors have to come to the field, possibly they didn't even see it. All they see is a ball girl crying that she was hit with a ball.
“At that point, making that decision is very difficult.”
On Monday, Kato tweeted an apology to the ball girl, her doubles partner and her fans, saying the incident was “completely involuntary.”
“I want to thank everyone for their continued support. “I have received a global outpouring of positive energy and that has lifted my spirits enormously,” he stated. wrotein a post that garnered support from other players.
“Now I am in the mixed doubles semi-finals, where I will use all that positive energy to succeed!”
According to the Grand Slam rule book, players “shall not hit, kick or throw a tennis ball in a violent, dangerous or angry manner within the tournament grounds, except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including The warm-up). ”
The rule book states: “In all cases of non-compliance, the decision of the referee in consultation with the Chief Grand Slam Supervisor shall be final and unappealable.”
A player who does not fulfill his obligations loses all ranking points earned in the tournament, as established in the rule book, and all prize money earned in the tournament.
