WTA investigating alleged 'racist incident' after star quits match in panic attack
The WTA have released a statement in response to the incident.
The WTA are investigating an alleged "racist" incident following Shaui Zhang's tearful withdrawal from her match with Amarissa Kiara Toth at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Wednesday. A disagreement arose after the umpire called a shot from Zhang wide, despite it appearing to land on the inside tramline.
The Chinese star's forehand had left a visible mark on the line, however, the decision was not overturned. Zhang was incensed by the call and asked to speak with the tournament supervisor.
But as the disagreement continued Toth walked up and wiped away the mark with her shoe - much to the dismay of Zhang. "Wait, wait, wait! Keep the mark," she yelled. "What are you doing? Why would you do that?"
Zhang burst into tears during the changeover and eventually retired while trailing 6-5 in the opening set of the round of 32 clash in Budapest with commentators suggesting she had suffered a panic attack. Toth came under fire for her actions from multiple tennis stars.
This is heartbreaking. How could Amarissa Toth do this? I feel so sad for poor Zhang Shuai. Toth is a professional Tennis player yet she would do something bad like this. The crowd shouldn't be cheering either. I hope Zhang will get some justice. @zhangshuai121 #ZhangShuai ������������!. pic.twitter.com/GYV1bIAPpa
— Aleta Marshall #IStandWithSimona (@AletaMarshXXX) July 19, 2023
A day after the incident, the WTA released a statement, reading: “The WTA has zero tolerance for racism in any form or context. The unfortunate incident that took place today at the Hungarian Grand Prix and subsequent posts are being reviewed and will be addressed.”
The statement appears to be in response to some comments made on the tournament's Facebook page. The incident has also provoked a response from many tennis players.
Ellen Perez tweeted: “Well that’s a quick way to lose respect from your peers. I’m actually shook by the level of disrespect from this girl. If I see this girl tomorrow I will tell her how disgusted I am."
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Meanwhile, Ajla Tomljanovic said: “Absolutely disgusting behaviour. Shuai is a better person than a lot of us for shaking the ref and that girl’s hand. But then again it’s Shuai we are talking about, of course she did.”
But Toth defended her decision to erase the mark in the immediate aftermath as she pointed the finger at Zhang. "I didn't understand why she made such a fuss about it, that she wanted to overrule the umpire's decision," she said. "I don't understand why she didn't accept it, all in all, it was she who was looking for trouble."