Tennis 2023: Amarissa Toth doubles Zhang Shuai case, WTA condemns racism at Hungarian GP

China’s Zhang Shuai broke down in tears and withdrew from her match at the WTA Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest on Wednesday after commentators suggested she had suffered a panic attack following a first-set incident.

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Shuai was robbed of a point in a match against local player Amarissa Toth – and the situation quickly exploded into a huge row.

The 20-year-old Hungarian finally won after Shuai was stopped in the first set with a score of 6-5.

The situation exploded when Shuai sent a grounder to Toth’s right. The ball appeared to land directly on the line where the touchline meets the corner of the box.

Shuai was stunned to see the ball called out and argued with the chair umpire for several minutes. In the end, he demanded that the tournament supervisor be brought to court to hear the matter.

The game had continued after one point dispute at 15-15, but the disagreements about the call continued.

After calling the tournament official to settle the matter, Shuai noticed Toth walking into the area of ​​the court where the ball landed and told his opponent not to cross the mark with his shoe.

However, Toth was seen on TV cameras wiping the marks off with his shoe before officials could look at it again.

Shuai could be heard shouting from across the court, “Wait, wait, wait, hold the sign. What are you doing? Why would you do that?”

Toth seemed to respond by saying, “Because you’re making trouble, that’s why.”

Shuai was seen completely devastated as heads changed after the service game and eventually the tournament doctor was called to the court.

Commentators noted that Shuai shed “a flood of tears” after the incident.

Shuai was finally able to get to his feet and offered a brief handshake to the chair umpire and Toth before quickly walking off the court and pointing to parts of the arena.

Toth held his hands in the air and celebrated immediately after the handshake.

But the young Hungarian has been unapologetic since then, in fact accusing Zhang of “making a fuss”.

“I didn’t understand why he made such a fuss about it that he wanted to overturn the referee’s decision,” Toth said. M4Sport.

“I don’t understand why he didn’t accept it, after all he was looking for trouble.”

A day after the incident, the WTA said in a statement: “The WTA has zero tolerance for racism in any form or context.

“The unfortunate incident that happened today at the Hungarian GP and the posts that followed are under review and will be addressed.”

The statement appears to refer to a comment from the Hungarian GP’s official Facebook account.

The comment read: “Amarissa didn’t decide if the ball was good or not. It was the decision of the linesman and then the chairman.

– The Hungarian tennis player in the first WTA match of his life may not have behaved in all situations, but he did not do anything that could be described as a lack of integrity.

“And there are no deviations, no misunderstandings. The Chinese are manipulating the world with a manipulative video.”

The reference to “manipulation by the Chinese” prompted calls for the Hungarian Grand Prix’s tournament license to be revoked.

Shuai addressed the issue on social media after the match on Wednesday morning.

“All the practice attempts were wrong because when you wanted to hit closer to the line, you even touched the line that was still OUT,” Zhang later wrote.

“I love you guys and all the girls who support me and stand (by my side).”

Toth has faced an avalanche of condemnation for his behavior.

Countless players rallied around Zhang and condemned Toth for the blatantly unsportsmanlike act.

Australian doubles star Ellen Perez was among the first to voice her disappointment.

“Well that’s a quick way to lose the respect of your peers. I am truly shocked by this girl’s disrespect,” Perez wrote.

“If I see this girl tomorrow, I’ll tell her how disgusted I am.”

Ajla Tomljanovic posted on Twitter: “Absolutely disgusting behaviour. Shuai is a better person than many of us because he shook the judge and that girl’s hand. But then again we’re talking about Shuai, of course he did.”

Aussie Daria Saville wrote: “Zero respect for this Toth girl. ZERO! I’m so so angry. I feel so bad for Shuai. Toth ‘won’ this point and ‘won’ this match but her reputation is ruined.”

Toth, meanwhile, will next face Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindli in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.