Chronicle Editor
TOURNAMENT director of an ITF Junior tournament in Ghana Roger Crawford has spoken out against “the worst incident he has witnessed on a tennis court” after top seed Michael Kouame slapped his opponent Raphael Nii Ankrah after losing the match.
A brawl then broke out between both players’ camps as Kouame could be seen running.
It came the same day the ATP Tour had to warn professional players after recent incidents involving Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev.
The men’s tour is now pushing tougher umpiring and sanctions for the upcoming clay swing after the likes of Zverev and Kyrgios hit headlines for recent outbursts towards umpires in Acapulco and Miami.
Kouame was the top seed at the junior tournament in Ghana as the world No 606 in the ITF Junior rankings. He faced the home hope Ankrah, ranked down at No 1 708 in a tight, three-set battle won by the Ghanaian 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(5).
At the conclusion of the match, both players approached the net and shook hands when the top-seeded Frenchman suddenly slapped his opponent in the face. Ankrah backed off as the junior No 606 immediately held his hands up in what appeared to be an apology.
But that was just the beginning of a clash between the players and their respective camps, with more footage later showing a brawl by the players’ benches on the court, as Kouame can be seen being chased away, still holding his racket.
The reason for his slap is not known, but the tournament director has now hit out against the 15-year-old for the “barbaric” incident and confirmed has requested Kouame be disqualified from next week’s event as well as the doubles this week.
The 15-year-old is now expected to be sanctioned by the ITF for his outburst.
“This afternoon I witnessed the most barbaric incident on a tennis court. I don’t think I have the words to explain what happened. The video says it all. The perpetrator is a player from France and he assaulted a player from Ghana.
My immediate response was to disqualify the perpetrator from the doubles event. I went further to recommend to the ITF to disqualify him entirely from next week’s event as well,” said Crawford.
“Ghanaians are a very peace-loving people. No wonder the kid from Ghana did not retaliate. As the tournament director, I called in the stadium security who held the perpetrator for some time. I met with the Ghanaian player and his team and they decided not to press charges.
Therefore, I had no option than to let the perpetrator free, although I brought in the police.
This is without a doubt the worst incident I have witnessed on a tennis court in my whole playing, coaching and now my admin/officiating career. This is not the way tennis is played in Ghana.” – Express Sport
Online Reporter