Recently, a player was disqualified during the qualifiers of the Shanghai Masters. A 26-year-old Australian player struck a ball in frustration, which had the misfortune to go in the chair umpire’s direction with full force. After the event, the player was disqualified and showed his regretful and apologetic mindset on his Twitter (now X) profile. However, his apology drew even more flak. Noticing the backlash, Rennae Stubbs, former coach of Serena Williams, jumped in to defend the player from her homeland.

It is not often that we see a player strike an official umpire, regardless of the intention. If the action occurs, it means an instant disqualification for the player. No tennis association has any relaxation on the rules, not even for its top players. 

Serena Williams’ former coach defends defaulted Australian player

Marc Polmans is a 26-year-old Australian player who was on the cusp of entering his first Masters’ tournament. However, his achievement shattered in an instant due to a foolish mistake. Polmans was on match point and missed a shot by hitting it at the net. Frustrated, he hit a ball with immense force and, unknowingly, launched it at the umpire, which meant an instant default for him.

He later stated that he apologized to the umpire, and the two have moved on from the situation, further recognizing his skewed judgment. But one Twitter user was not happy. They scolded the player further, saying this action could have seriously injured the umpire had they been a few centimeters in a different direction.

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Rennae Stubbs popped in to defend Polmans. She said, “He’s aware mate, you don’t need to rub it in more. He made a huge mistake but trust me, u won’t meet a nicer guy, so give him a break. Unless you’ve lived a perfect life.”

Stubbs’ comment sparked another reply from the same user. They further said he is surely apologetic for his actions, but his actions could’ve endangered the official, which should is not a small matter.

To this, the former coach of Serena Williams also stated, “If you have no doubt he’s sorry, why do u need to keep rubbing it in. We all know what happened, no one more than Marc & Ben, but u coming on here and ripping a really good kid even more isn’t changing tennis players outbursts. He knows he messed up, let it go.

Stubbs is quick to defend her countryman as he receives further derision from an angered former official of the sport. Hitting an official is one of the worst acts in a match and will always get a player defaulted. Even Novak Djokovic is not immune from this rule.

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How Novak Djokovic found himself exiting the US Open earlier

Djokovic’s 2020 US Open stint is probably his most infamous run in the American slam yet. The Serbian player, similar to Polmans, launched a ball in frustration, which hit a lineswoman. After this move, there was some discussion, but the 24-time grand slam champion was eliminated. He lost his chance to go far in that year’s US Open in an instant.

Djokovic’s and Polmans’ default shows that no player is above when it comes to harming the linesman at any moment. This will be a memory that Polmans will remember for the rest of his career, and he is likely to make changes to how he deals with frustration going forward. 

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