20-year-old US tennis player Ryan Harrison got a warning from the chair umpire during Monday's first round French Open match against Gilles Simon for racket abuse after tossing his racket, which happened to land near a ballboy.
It happened when Harrison was broken in the second set. After hitting a return volley wide, Harrison flipped his racket behind him without looking, and it looked worse because the ballboy happened to be positioned in the general direction where the racket was thrown.
Although true that Harrison didn't intend to throw the racket at anyone, he did deserve the warning as there is no place for tossing a racket during a tennis match for any reason, whether intentional or not.
Harrison has become known for his temper tantrums, especially at last year's US Open. Mary Carillo gave Harrison the nickname "Mr. Cranky Pants" after he not only tossed a racket, but kicked a tennis ball into the stands during his opening round match, which he lost.
Some commentators argue that his outbursts are just part of his competitive nature. I would argue that Harrison's temper tantrums makes him a wild card who can't win on a regular basis until he can learn to control himself.
Harrison is still young and has time to learn this lesson. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to turn things around today as Harrison lost to Simon in four sets.
Video via SnappyTV. H/T Busted Racquet.
It happened when Harrison was broken in the second set. After hitting a return volley wide, Harrison flipped his racket behind him without looking, and it looked worse because the ballboy happened to be positioned in the general direction where the racket was thrown.
Although true that Harrison didn't intend to throw the racket at anyone, he did deserve the warning as there is no place for tossing a racket during a tennis match for any reason, whether intentional or not.
Harrison has become known for his temper tantrums, especially at last year's US Open. Mary Carillo gave Harrison the nickname "Mr. Cranky Pants" after he not only tossed a racket, but kicked a tennis ball into the stands during his opening round match, which he lost.
Some commentators argue that his outbursts are just part of his competitive nature. I would argue that Harrison's temper tantrums makes him a wild card who can't win on a regular basis until he can learn to control himself.
Harrison is still young and has time to learn this lesson. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to turn things around today as Harrison lost to Simon in four sets.
Video via SnappyTV. H/T Busted Racquet.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
