Ballkid’s mid-point blunder at Australian Open causes chaos: ‘Happens to the best of us’

An Australian Open ball kid accidentally ran onto the court to retrieve a ball midway through a rally, causing the point to be replayed.

During the second set of the Saturday doubles match between the Australian duo Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata and the Germans Yannck Hanfmann and Dominik Koepfer, a ball boy became a little too enthusiastic.

Hijikata played a beautiful volley towards the referee’s chair and a charging Koepher somehow chased it down and returned it over the net.

However, the ball boy thought the point was over and ran onto the field, before suddenly realizing it and turning around.

The referee ordered the set to be replayed and called a let.

The referee called a let and ordered the point to be replayed

“That’s going to make the ball boy feel extremely terrible, but we all make mistakes,” Casey Dellacqua said in a commentary.

“Things like that happen to the best of us.”

The Australian doubles managed to win the match, but the Germans claimed victory 6-4 4-6 6-3.

The ball kid mistake comes just days after a similar moment in the men’s singles match between Karen Khachanov and Aleksander Kovacevic, when one of the ball kids caught the ball at the net while it was still in play.

After winning the opening set 6-4, Khachanov faced a break point in the second set while trailing 2-1 when he fired a powerful serve off Kovacevic’s backhand.

The 25-year-old American tried to get the ball back into play with a slice, but his looping attempt seemed to end up in the tram lines, which would have won Khachanov the point.

However, before the ball bounced and Khachanov approached the net to ensure it went wide, a ball boy caught it and the referee immediately called for the point to be replayed.

There were groans from the crowd as they realized what had happened, while Khachanov couldn’t believe it as he told the referee: “It’s here, where are the rules?”

A ball boy caught a ball hit by Kovacevic before it bounced as it appeared to go wide

The referee responded by telling Khachanov ‘he has to let it bounce’ as she explained that she had to stick to the rules and had no power to give the Russian the point.

But when she turned to her left, she saw Kovacevic gesturing to pass the point to his opponent.

It was a remarkable act of sportsmanship from Kovacevic, especially at such an important stage of the match, and Khachanov appreciated it as he raised his hand to thank his opponent, while still arguing with the referee after she initially called to determine the point. played again.

The referee confirmed Kovacevic’s concession to the stunned crowd, which drew loud applause from those in the arena.

Khachanov then won the second set 6-3, before Kovacevic hit back in the third to make it 6-4 to give himself hope of a comeback.

But Khachanov held on in the fourth set, winning the set 6-3 and booking his place in the third round.