German prospect Ida Wobker was disqualified for her behaviour at Wimbledon during her girls’ singles match. The 15-year-old was down 6-0, 5-5 on Saturday when she threw her racket at the ground in frustration, striking a spectator in the crowd.
Wobker sits 24th in the ITF’s junior rankings but endured a tough start to her first round match at Wimbledon. Her opponent Maria Valentina Pop was leading 30-0 and served to Wobker, who soon sent a shot beyond the baseline to go further behind. It was the German teenager’s 44th unforced error and proved to be the final point of the match. She responded by throwing her racket into the ground, only for it to bounce into the Court 11 crowd. This ultimately resulted in Wobker being defaulted, with the umpire handing the match to Pop.
The chair umpire halted the match immediately after the incident and called a supervisor onto the court, who was informed of the situation, before checking on the spectators. The Athletic reported that no one appeared to have been hurt by Wobker’s racket, but the match was called in Pop’s favour.
It was a day to forget for Wobker, whose match was brought to an early end after 91 minutes. She had also committed 11 double faults before being disqualified.
In comparison, Pop had made just seven unforced errors and four double faults during their match. The Romanian will face either British wildcard Daniella Britton or Argentina’s Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi in the next round.
Article III, Section R of the ITF’s Grand Slam rulebook, regarding unsportsmanlike conduct, states: “For the purposes of this Rule, Unsportsmanlike Conduct is defined as any misconduct by a player that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the Sport. In addition, unsportsmanlike conduct shall include, but not be limited to, the giving, making, issuing, authorising or endorsing any public statement having, or designed to have, an effect prejudicial or detrimental to the best interests of the tournament and/or the officiating thereof.”
Section O of the same article states: “Players shall not violently or with anger hit, kick or throw a racquet or other equipment within the precincts of the tournament site. Violation of this Section shall subject a player to a fine up to $50,000 for each violation.
“In addition, if such violation occurs during a match (including the warmup), the player shall be penalised in accordance with the Point Penalty Schedule hereinafter set forth. For the purposes of this Rule, abuse of racquets or equipment is defined as intentionally and violently destroying or damaging racquets or equipment or intentionally and violently hitting the net, court, umpire’s chair or other fixture during a match out of anger or frustration.”
The point penalty schedule allows umpires to issue warnings for first offences, a point penalty for a second offence, and a game penalty for a third. However, Section T also allows officials to default players for a single offence.
The rule states: “The Referee in consultation with the Grand Slam Supervisor may declare a default for either a single violation of this Code or pursuant to the Point Penalty Schedule set out above. In all cases of default, the decision of the Referee in consultation with the Grand Slam Supervisor shall be final and unappealable.”