A 15-year-old Wimbledon junior player, Ida Wobker, was disqualified from her opening match after her racquet went into the spectator stands. The incident occurred on Saturday during Wobker's first-round match against Maria Valentina Pop.
While trailing in the second set, Wobker, who is ranked 24th in the ITF junior rankings, hit a backhand long. In frustration, she struck the turf with her racquet, releasing the handle. The racquet bounced off the grass and into the stands.
The chair umpire immediately stopped the match and called for a supervisor. After a review, Wobker was defaulted from the girls' draw.
Wimbledon's Referees' Office confirmed that the default was issued because Wobker's racquet hit a spectator. No one in the crowd was harmed during the incident.
Wobker accepted the decision and later shared a post from her mentor, former German professional Barbara Rittner, on her Instagram story, which stated, "(Poo emoji) happens (female shrug emoji) you learn from it!"
Defaults for racket or ball mishandling are often based on the safety of those involved. In a similar incident at the 2020 US Open, Novak Djokovic was defaulted after accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball. Lorenzo Musetti avoided a default at the French Open five years later when he kicked a loose ball that struck a line judge, with Frances Tiafoe calling the decision to continue the match "comical."