Tennys Sandgren swings for the ball
The ball ricocheted off a fence before hitting the line judge
Reuters
  • An American tennis player was disqualified from a tournament after accidentally hitting an official in the butt.
  • Tennys Sandgren swiped a ball away in frustration after being hit in the crotch by a ball kid.
  • The player took to Twitter later and described the throw as "a ball kid toss with a little too much mustard."
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

An American tennis player was kicked out of a tournament after he accidentally hit a line judge in the butt with a frustrated swipe at a ball which had just hit him in the groin.

Tennys Sandgren was playing at an ATP Challenger event in North Carolina when he asked for a ball from one of the ball kids.

The volunteer obliged but Sandgren was caught off guard and the ball hit him in the crotch.

Sandgren, 30, then swatted the ball away in frustration, but was unfortunate to see it ricochet off a fence then hit a line judge in the backside.

The event, one rung down from the regular ATP Tour in terms of prestige, was televised, but there is seemingly no clear footage of the incident.

Tennys Sandgren got DQed for hitting an official's butt.
Tennys Sandgren is seen with an official and a ball kid.
Screenshot/ATP Challenger Tour

Sandgren himself tweeted a short clip showing the moment he was hit by the ball, although it is obscured by the on-screen scoreboard. A child's voice can then be heard saying "sorry."

Seconds later, in fuller footage of the incident, the camera cuts to Sandgren's opponent, Christopher Eubanks, while the noise of a racket being swung and a ball being hit can be heard. A man, seemingly the official struck by Sandgren, then grunts in discomfort.

The camera then cuts back to Sandgren, whose racket is on the floor. He can then be heard apologizing.

After a review of the incident, Sandgren was then given a default and kicked out of the tournament.

Tennys Sandgren kicked out of Challenger Tour event
Screenshot/ATP Challenger Tour

After the match, the 103rd ranked player in the world took to Twitter to give his side of the story.

"So tonight I got hit in the nuts by a ball kid toss with a little too much mustard, slapped the wayward ball into the fence, which collided with a ref's tushy as he was walking to the other side, resulting in a default.

"How's your evening going?"

Sandgren returned later to clarify that the freak incident was "totally my fault."

The incident bears striking similarities to Novak Djokovic's expulsion from the 2020 US Open. The Serb was thrown out after he hit a ball away in frustration, only for it to strike a line judge in the throat.

Read the original article on Insider