It appears Hungarian Open tournament organizers have found a way to make a growing controversy worse.
After video showed Kiara Toth erasing a ball mark on a questionable call and celebrating as her opponent, China’s Zhang Shuai, was forced to retire due to a panic attack, a post on the tournament’s Facebook page appeared to defend the 20-year-old Toth.
“(Toth) did not decide if the ball was good or not. It was the decision of the linesman and then the chair umpire,” the post circulating on social media read.
“The Hungarian tennis player in the first WTA match of her life may not have behaved in every situation, but she did nothing that could be described as a lack of integrity. And there is no deflection, no misunderstanding. The Chinese are manipulating the world with a manipulative video.”
The “manipulating” accusations — perceived as racist against Shuai’s home country — seemingly prompted the WTA to respond to the situation, which had drawn the ire of some of the top players in the world.
“The WTA has zero tolerance for racism in any form or context,” the women’s tennis organizing body said in a statement. “The unfortunate incident that took place yesterday at the Hungarian Grand Prix and subsequent posts are being reviewed and will be addressed.”
Polish veteran Magda Linette chastised the Hungarian Open’s statement, calling it the “worst response by a tournament I have ever seen.”
Shuai, 34, is one of the most respected players on tour, and is suffering through a brutal 2023, currently having lost 13 straight matches.
Many players defended her after video of the incident went viral on Tuesday — and were equally angered with how Toth and the umpire handled the situation.
Shuai was disputing the call when Toth erased the mark on the clay court, making it impossible to further check if the call was correct or not.
Screen grabs of the mark seem to show the ball landed mostly on the line.
Shuai retired from the match in hysterics while trailing 6-5 in the first set.
“I don’t understand why she made such a fuss out of it, that she wanted to overrule the judge’s decision,” Toth said, according to media reports. “I don’t understand why she didn’t accept it, but she made trouble for herself.”
