Doubles team disqualified after ball girl is hit

Miyu Kato left the court in tears after she and partner Aldila Sutjiadi were disqualified in the second set of their third-round match

A women's doubles team was disqualified from the French Open after Japan's Miyu Kato hit a ball girl with a ball.

Kato was initially given a warning by the umpire but after protests from opponents Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo, they were disqualified.

Kato left the court in tears, consoled by Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi.

The Japanese-Indonesian team tried to plead their case to French Open officials on the court, saying it had been accidental, and Kato went over to the ball girl to apologise.

One official on the court compared the incident to Novak Djokovic's disqualification from the 2020 US Open, saying: "If you hit someone and they're injured then you're responsible for that action. Even if you don't mean it, you're still responsible for that action."

Czech Bouzkova and Spain's Sorribes had taken the first set 7-6 (7-1) in the third-round encounter but were a break down at 3-1 in the second when the incident happened.

The crowd booed the decision to disqualify the 16th seeds, who were applauded off the court.

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