The tennis world has been rocked by an act of “absolutely disgusting behaviour” that left Zhang Shuai visibly distressed on court.
The Chinese player broke down in tears and retired from the match with commentators suggesting she had suffered a panic attack as a result of an incident in the first set.
Tennis commentators from around the world have been left horrified by the scene which saw Shuai robbed of a point during her Hungarian Open match against local player Amarissa Toth — and the situation quickly exploded into a moment of immense controversy.
The 20-year-old Hungarian was eventually handed the victory after Shuai’s retirement at 6-5 in the first set.
The situation exploded when Shuai sent a groundstroke crosscourt to Toth’s right hand side. The ball appeared to land right on the line where the sideline meets the corner of the service box.
Shuai was stunned to see the ball was called out and argued with the chair umpire for several minutes. She eventually called for a tournament supervisor to be brought to the court to address the matter.
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Play had continued for one more point after the controversy at 15-15, but the disagreement over the call continued.
After calling for the tournament official to resolve the matter, Shuai spotted Toth walking to the area of the court where the ball landed and told her opponent not to cross out the mark with her shoes.
Toth, however, was seen on the TV cameras wiping the mark away with her shoes before the officials could have another look at it.
Shuai was heard yelling from the other side of the court: “Wait, wait, wait, keep the mark. What are you doing? Why would you do that?”
Toth appeared to respond by saying: “Because you’re making problems, that’s why.”
Shuai was seen looking absolutely devastated at the change of ends following the service game and a tournament doctor was eventually called onto the court.
The Tennis TV commentators noted that Shuai was shedding a “flood of tears”.
Shuai was eventually able to get back to her feet and offered brief handshakes with the chair umpire and Toth before quickly walking off the court while pointing at sections of the arena.
Toth held her hands in the air and celebrated immediately after the hand shake.
The crowd had booed Shuai for failing to return to the court at the end of the 11th service game.
Shuai addressed the matter on social media after the match on Wednesday morning.
“All efforts on practice was wrong, because when you wanted hitting closer to the line, even touched the line still OUT,” Zhang wrote later.
“I love you guys and all girls who supporting me and standing (by) my side.”
Toth has faced an avalanche of condemnation as a result of her conduct.
Australian doubles star Ellen Perez was among the first to declare her disappointment.
“Well that’s a quick way to lose respect from your peers. I’m actually shook by the level of disrespect from this girl,” Perez wrote.
“If I see this girl tomorrow I will tell her how disgusted I am.”
Ajla Tomljanovic posted on Twitter: “Absolutely disgusting behaviour. Shuai is a better person than a lot of us for shaking the ref and that girl’s hand. But then again it’s Shuai we are talking about, of course she did”.
Aussie Daria Saville wrote: “Zero respect for this Toth girl. ZERO! I am so so so mad. I feel so bad for Shuai. Toth ‘won’ this point and ‘won’ this match but her reputation is ruined.”
It was a devastating episode for Shuai who has previously opened up on her mental health issues.
She was seen bursting into tears during a French Open press conference in May following her first round loss.
She said last month she has been struggling to cope following the death of her grandparents this year and has also been dealing with personal issues with Chinese tennis officials that have resulted in her staying away from her country for the past three years.
At the age of 34, her future is uncertain.
Toth, meanwhile, next faces Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl in the Round of 16 on Thursday.