Tennis player Alexander Bublik’s rackets were the unfortunate victims of his rage during a match in the Open Sud de France on Thursday.
Bublik was the tournament’s No. 6 seed, and he was the heavy favorite against France’s Grégoire Barrère, who wasn’t ranked. However, the outcome was not as anticipated.
And it was accompanied by some racket-to-court violence.
Bublik smashed his racket on the court five times as fans in the stands jeered him after double faulting three times during the match-deciding tiebreak.
However, all tennis players bring multiple rackets to matches, so the occasional tantrum does not leave that player without backups. Bublik’s ferocity, however, did not end with one racket.
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When he arrived at his bench, he immediately picked up a second racket and slammed it, causing the crowd to boo even louder.
“Well, that’ll get the treatment as well,” said broadcaster Mikey Pereira.
Bublik, who is from Kazakhstan, tossed it aside and smashed another as he continued to whip his arm downward with all his might.
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“This is getting out of hand,” Pereira observed.
Bublik finally finished smashing rackets, picking up his fourth and walking to the other side of the court. At the time, his latest double fault made it 6-0 in favor of Barrère, and he wasn’t about to give up that lead.