A young tennis player from Italy has had her dreams of winning the Aussie Junior Open crushed, after she allegedly lost her temper on court.
Maria Vittoria Viviani was instantly dismissed from the competition after she hit a ball boy during her match against China’s Xin Yu Wang.
After losing her first set in the opening round of the competition, Viviani lent back in frustration and hit a ball off to the side of the court.
She was immediately sent off, leaving the court in tears.
A video clip (shown above) appears to show Maria even gesturing to apologise after the hit, although the impact on the child cannot be seen.
Yahoo Seven Sport are calling the penalty “incredibly harsh,” while others at the match report that she only hit the ball “very softly.”
“She clearly wasn’t trying to hut and hurt the ballboy,” said one witness, speaking to the Herald Sun.
