The official wasn’t seriously hurt after being hit on the nose and cheek, organisers say. Polmans, who approached to apologise, was disqualified on the spot, forfeiting prize money and ranking points.
A tennis player has been disqualified from his match after he hit a ball at the umpire, hitting the official in the face.
Marc Polmans, 26, had just failed to convert a match point during his qualifying match against Italian Stefano Napolitano at the Shanghai Masters.
Angry at hitting his shot into the net during his match, the Australian world number 140, who was born in South Africa, belted the ball in the general direction of the stands but instead hit British official Ben Anderson.
Marc Polmans was disqualified from Shanghai qualifying after hitting the umpire with a ball.
He had match point, & launched the ball out of anger.
The ball hit the umpire at a very fast pace.
Disqualified immediately.
Wow.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 3, 2023
The umpire clutched his head and slumped to his right as Polmans approached the chair with his hand out, seemingly apologising.
Anderson, who was hit on the cheek and nose, appeared to have escaped serious injury, and a tournament spokesperson said he had returned to his hotel to rest.
Polmans was trying to reach the main draw of what would have been his first-ever appearance at a Masters 1000 event.
But he was disqualified on the spot, with world number 253 Napolitano getting into the main draw instead.
The Australian also loses any prize money and ranking points he picked up during the qualifying tournament, having won his first match against Alibek Kachmazov.
In 2017, Canadian player Denis Shapovalov hit a ball at an umpire during a Davis Cup clash with Great Britain.
