WASHINGTON — A tennis player was defaulted from her match at the Citi Open after hitting a line judge in the knee with a ball after losing a point.
Olga Puchkova, a Russian who is ranked 88th, was forced to forfeit against Paula Ormaechea of Argentina while trailing 3-6, 6-3, 4-1 on Thursday.
Puchkova said in a statement released by the tournament that she was "sincerely sorry" that she "accidentally" hit the official.
WTA supervisor Melanie Tabb said even though Puchkova insisted it was an accident, the rules still required her to be kicked out of the tournament.
