Tennis
The tennis player freaked out and threw the ball at the referee’s face. What an idiotic trick!
Mark Polmans / Photo: © Frey / TPN / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru
The Australian was one rally away from victory, but could not control his nerves.
In professional tennis there are plenty of emotional players who, in case of failure, go beyond what is permitted, running into fines and warnings.
But Mark Polmans’s action, one step away from victory, stands apart. The Australian injured the referee and was immediately ejected from the court.
Australian Open semi-finalist
Australian Polmans is little known to the general tennis audience. By the age of 26, the athlete was still unable to break into the top hundred of the ATP rankings. In eight years of his professional career, the athlete made people talk about himself only once, when in 2017 he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open together with Andrew Whittington. Since then, he has won three titles at Challenger series tournaments.
These days, Polmans tried his luck at the Masters series tournament in Shanghai, where he defeated Russian Alibek Kachmazov in the first round of qualifying in a third-set tiebreaker.
Ugly blow
In the qualifying final, Polmans met the quite passable Italian Stefano Napolitano, who ranks only 253rd in the ATP rankings. Mark won the first set in a tiebreaker, and the second set reached the 13th game, where with the score 6:5, the Australian served for the match. In a rally that could have brought him victory, Polmans went to the net, but made an unfortunate mistake, allowing his opponent to level the score.
Polmans’ disappointment was so great that he ran up to the ball as it bounced off the net and hit it with all his might. Unfortunately, the Australian’s nervous breakdown had consequences. The ball bounced off the net and hit chair umpire Renaud Lichtenstein square in the face. The referee grabbed his head and fell to the side.
Mark immediately went to apologize, but it was too late. The Australian was instantly disqualified, and this was the end of his tournament journey in Shanghai. Napolitano received a ticket to the main draw, and with it a check for $18 thousand (about 1.8 million rubles). Mark earned twice as much. But these prize money will most likely be reduced, because for such an offense the Player Code of Conduct provides for a fine, the amount of which will be determined based on the results of the proceedings. For reference, at Grand Slam tournaments you can lose $20 thousand (about 2 million rubles) just for incorrectly touching the judges, but this is a big blow.
Source: Sportbox
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January 18 Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina (WTA 12) The Australian Open will begin its performances in 2026.
In the 1/64 final the Ukrainian team will play against the Spanish representative Christina Buksha (WTA 51). The match will take place in the second start at John Cain Arena after the Feri-Cobolli match. The approximate start time of the match is 04:30 Kyiv time.
The best moments of tennis matches LIVE on Telegram channel Tennis on Sport.ua
This will be the first head-to-head meeting between the rivals.
The winner of the match will face Linda Klimovichova or Francesca Jones in the second round.
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Source: Sport UA
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On January 17, the finals took place in the tough tournaments ATP 250 in Adelaide (Australia) and ATP 250 in Auckland (New Zealand).
Czech became champion in Adelaide Tomah Makhach (ATP 35), who made it in the final Hugo Humbert In three batches over 2 hours and 52 minutes.
Toma played the third final of his career and won his second cup. He won the 500 title in Acapulco last season.
ATP 250 Adelaide. Difficult. Final
Hugo Humbert (France) – Tomas Machac (Czech Republic) [8] – 4:6, 7:6 (7:2), 2:6
In the deciding match of the New Zealand competition Yakub Menshik beat (Czech Republic, ATP 18) Sebastian Baez (Argentina, ATP 39) in two sets in 1 hour 24 minutes.
Jakub reached the Tour final for the third time in his career and won his second trophy. He became the Masters champion in Miami in 2025.
Menshik interrupted Baez’s seven-fight hitting streak.
ATP 250 Auckland. Difficult. Final
Sebastian Baez (Argentina) [7] – Yakub Menshik (Czech Republic) [3] – 3:6, 6:7 (7:9)
Source: Sport UA
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Tennis
The champions of the WTA 500 tournaments held in Adelaide and the WTA 250 tournaments held in Hobart have been announced.
On the night of January 17, the final matches of the WTA 500 tournaments held in Adelaide and the WTA 250 tournaments held in Hobart took place.
At the 500 final in Adelaide Victoria Mboko (WTA 17) lost Mirra Andreeva (WTA 8) Two sets in 1 hour.
Mboko played his third decisive match at Tour level and suffered defeat for the first time. In 2025, Victoria became the champion of the WTA 1000 in Montreal and the WTA 250 in Hong Kong.
WTA 500 Adelaide. Difficult. Final
Mirra Andreeva [3] – Victoria Mboko (Canada) [8] – 6:3, 6:1
The competition in Hobart was won by Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Italy, WTA 80). In the final, the Italian defeated 18-year-old Iva Jovic (USA, WTA 30) in two games in 1 hour and 38 minutes.
Cocciaretto won the second trophy of his career. He became the champion on the Lausanne courts in 2023. Elisabetta played in the Hobart final for the second time – losing to Lauren Davis in the cup match in 2023.
WTA 250 Hobart. Difficult. Final
Iva Jovic (USA) [3] – Elisabetta Cocciaretto (Italy) – 4:6, 4:6
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
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